Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The Energy News Digest for August 9, 2023

The Energy News Digest is sponsored by the Northwest Public Power Association. 

The News Digest on Facebook and Twitter will bring you breaking news throughout the week.

Subscribe to The Energy News Digest.

NWPPA SEEKING CHAMPION OF COMMUNICATIONS AWARD NOMINATIONS

NWPPA is seeking nominations for the 2023 Champion of Communications Award (formerly the Lacy Peoples Award), which will be presented at the 2023 Northwest Innovations in Communications Conference in Santa Rosa, California, Sept. 18-21. Please consider someone on your staff or a colleague for this prestigious award. Nominations are due by Aug. 25 and can be submitted here.

HOTSHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Eastern U.S. – Tens of Thousands Still without Power after Deadly Storms as a New Wave of Severe Weather & Flooding (Cable News Network)

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/08/weather/east-us-severe-storms-tuesday/index.html

Skagit River Dams – Sourdough Fire Takes Bite Out of Seattle’s Electricity Supplies (KUOW News, Seattle, WA)

https://www.kuow.org/stories/sourdough-fire-takes-bite-out-of-seattle-s-electricity-supplies

Idaho Man Charged with Shooting Rifle at Two Hydroelectric Power Stations (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/idaho-hydroelectric-indictment-72e35106db7eaa9c5cdfc85e30a8f0d1

Group Petitions to Dump Washington’s New Carbon-Pricing System (Crosscut Seattle)

https://crosscut.com/politics/2023/08/group-petitions-dump-washingtons-new-carbon-pricing-system

Gas, Building Groups Drop Lawsuit Against New Washington Building Codes Requiring Heat Pumps (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/washington-state-building-code-lawsuit-dropped-natural-gas-ban-building-industry/690270/

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (See Stories Below)

1.      Skagit River Dams – Sourdough Fire Takes Bite Out of Seattle’s Electricity Supplies

2.      Idaho Man Charged with Shooting Rifle at Two Hydroelectric Power Stations

3.      Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line to Break Ground in Fall

4.      Alaska: A Long-Awaited Hydro Project in Angoon Has the Go-Ahead, If Money Can Be Found to Build It

5.      Nevada: Washoe Tribe to Receive $1.3 Million for Clean Energy

6.      Gas, Building Groups Drop Lawsuit Against New Washington Building Codes Requiring Heat Pumps

7.      New Data Modeling Project Maps & Ranks Pollinator Habitat within Bonneville Power Administration Service Territory

8.      After 20-Plus Years Radioactive Waste Melting Plant at Hanford Site Takes Key Step Forward

9.      Idaho’s Water Supply Is Declining. Officials Discuss Challenges at State Summit

10.   More Than a Million Acres of U.S. Tribal Lands Submerged by Dams: Study

11.   Group Petitions to Dump Washington’s New Carbon-Pricing System

12.   Washington Cities, Counties Now Required to Plan for Climate Change

13.   The Climate-Friendly Cows Bred to Belch Less Methane

14.   Best & Worst States for Broadband, 2023

15.   Washington’s High Gas Prices Make It the Best State in the Nation to Go Electric, Study Says

16.   CNET Deletes Thousands of Old Articles to Game Google Search

17.   NASA’s Mars Helicopter Just Won’t Quit, Resuming Flights After an Untimely Landing

18.   Institute for Northwest Energy Futures Appoints Noel Schulz Inaugural Director

19.   Oregon: Republican Senators Who Boycotted Work Can’t Run for Reelection, Secretary of State Rules

20.   Eastern U.S. – Tens of Thousands Still without Power after Deadly Storms as a New Wave of Severe Weather & Flooding

21.   At Least 6 Killed on Hawaii’s Maui Island as Fires Force People to Flee Flames

22.   A Giant Pacific Northwest Winemaker Makes a Big Cut in Production, A Move Growers Find Unpalatable

WORD OF THE DAY

Orb \ORB\ Noun – 1: Any of the concentric spheres in old astronomy surrounding the earth and carrying the celestial bodies in their revolutions 2: archaic: something circular: circle, orbit 3: a spherical body; especially: a spherical celestial object 4: eye 5: a sphere surmounted by a cross symbolizing kingly power and justice.

Woody Allen’s “Sleeper” caused orb sales (or any other spherical object) to skyrocket in the tiny burgh of Anytown USA. Unfortunately, without the futuristic technology foretold in the movie, no one got high…they just all got annoyed.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.      Skagit River Dams – Sourdough Fire Takes Bite Out of Seattle’s Electricity Supplies (KUOW News, Seattle, WA)

https://www.kuow.org/stories/sourdough-fire-takes-bite-out-of-seattle-s-electricity-supplies

2.      Idaho Man Charged with Shooting Rifle at Two Hydroelectric Power Stations (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/idaho-hydroelectric-indictment-72e35106db7eaa9c5cdfc85e30a8f0d1

3.      Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line to Break Ground in Fall (LaGrande Observer, OR)

https://www.lagrandeobserver.com/news/local/b2h-transmission-line-to-break-ground-in-fall/article_86ef3b45-b42a-5596-86fa-f2045f8c7774.html

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

4.      Alaska: A Long-Awaited Hydro Project in Angoon Has the Go-Ahead, If Money Can Be Found to Build It (KCAW Radio, Sitka, AK)

https://www.kcaw.org/2023/08/08/a-long-awaited-hydro-project-in-angoon-has-the-go-ahead-if-money-can-be-found-to-build-it/

5.      Nevada: Washoe Tribe to Receive $1.3 Million for Clean Energy (KOLO-TV, Las Vegas, NV)

https://www.kolotv.com/2023/08/07/washoe-tribe-receive-13-million-clean-energy/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

6.      Gas, Building Groups Drop Lawsuit Against New Washington Building Codes Requiring Heat Pumps (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/washington-state-building-code-lawsuit-dropped-natural-gas-ban-building-industry/690270/

FISH & WILDLIFE

7.      New Data Modeling Project Maps & Ranks Pollinator Habitat within Bonneville Power Administration Service Territory (Bonneville Power Administration)

https://www.bpa.gov/about/newsroom/news-articles/20230808-new-data-modeling-project-maps-ranks-pollinator-habitat-within-bpa-servi

ENVIRONMENTAL AFFLATUS – CLEAN UP ON AISLE THREE

8.      After 20-Plus Years Radioactive Waste Melting Plant at Hanford Site Takes Key Step Forward (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/aug/08/after-20-plus-years-radioactive-waste-melting-plan/

WATER, WATER, ANYWHERE?

9.      Idaho’s Water Supply Is Declining. Officials Discuss Challenges at State Summit. (Washington State Standard)

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2023/08/07/idahos-water-supply-is-declining-officials-discuss-challenges-at-state-summit/

10.   More Than a Million Acres of U.S. Tribal Lands Submerged by Dams: Study (The Hill, Washington, DC)

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4144655-more-than-a-million-acres-of-us-tribal-lands-submerged-by-dams-study/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

11.   Group Petitions to Dump Washington’s New Carbon-Pricing System (Crosscut Seattle)

https://crosscut.com/politics/2023/08/group-petitions-dump-washingtons-new-carbon-pricing-system

12.   Washington Cities, Counties Now Required to Plan for Climate Change (Crosscut Seattle)

https://crosscut.com/environment/2023/08/washington-cities-counties-now-required-plan-climate-change

13.   The Climate-Friendly Cows Bred to Belch Less Methane (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/climate-friendly-cows-bred-belch-less-methane-2023-08-08/

LONDON CALLING –TELECOMMUNICATIONS

14.   Best & Worst States for Broadband, 2023 (Broadband Now)

https://broadbandnow.com/research/best-states-with-internet-coverage-and-speed

I SING THE CAR ELECTRIC

15.   Washington’s High Gas Prices Make It the Best State in the Nation to Go Electric, Study Says (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/aug/09/washingtons-high-gas-prices-make-it-the-best-state/

PUBLIC RELATIONS, MARKETING & MEDIA

16.   CNET Deletes Thousands of Old Articles to Game Google Search (Gizmodo)

https://gizmodo.com/cnet-deletes-thousands-old-articles-google-search-seo-1850721475

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI – SEETHING STEW OF SCIENCE

17.   NASA’s Mars Helicopter Just Won’t Quit, Resuming Flights After an Untimely Landing (Gizmodo)

https://gizmodo.com/nasas-mars-helicopter-just-wont-quit-resuming-flights-1850720589

MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE

18.   Institute for Northwest Energy Futures Appoints Noel Schulz Inaugural Director (WSU Insider)

https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2023/08/08/wsu-tri-cities-institute-for-northwest-energy-futures-appoints-noel-schulz-inaugural-director/

19.   Oregon: Republican Senators Who Boycotted Work Can’t Run for Reelection, Secretary of State Rules (The Oregonian, Portland, OT)

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2023/08/republican-senators-who-boycotted-work-cant-run-for-reelection-secretary-of-state-rules.html

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TODAY

20.   Eastern U.S. – Tens of Thousands Still without Power after Deadly Storms as a New Wave of Severe Weather & Flooding (Cable News Network)

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/08/weather/east-us-severe-storms-tuesday/index.html

21.   At Least 6 Killed on Hawaii’s Maui Island as Fires Force People to Flee Flames (CBS News)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hawaii-hurricane-dora-winds-wildfires-evacuations-power-outages/

22.   A Giant Pacific Northwest Winemaker Makes a Big Cut in Production, A Move Growers Find Unpalatable (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2023/08/09/northwest-winemaker-ste-michelle-wine-estates-cuts-back-production-growers-worried/

DIVERSIONS

Nagasaki Marks 78th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing with Mayor Urging World to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

https://apnews.com/article/japan-nagasaki-us-atomic-bomb-hibakusha-733c9ba05ad595290196fc1cfca2aec4

Robbie Robertson, ‘The Band’ Lead Guitarist and Songwriter, Dies at 80

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/robbie-robertson-band-singer-lead-194803097.html

This Year’s World Scrabble Champion Blew Everyone Away with a Three-Letter Word

https://slate.com/culture/2023/08/scrabble-world-championship-2023-david-eldar-harshan-lamabadusuriya.html

‘Unusually Snowy’: Farmers’ Almanac Predicts Snowy, Wet Winter for Pacific Northwest

https://www.koin.com/weather/farmers-almanac-pacific-northwest-2024-winter-forecast/

SONG OF THE DAY

Playing For Change – The Weight (Featuring Ringo Starr & Robbie Robertson)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

Links in The Energy News Digest are for current stories. Media organizations update their websites regularly, which may result in broken links.

I try to choose stories that are accessible without paying a subscription. Individual experiences may vary. Media attribution includes information about possible paywall restrictions. Regular clearing of your browser’s history and cookie files may help access some paywall sites.