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Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories
WA State Energy
Council Finally Votes on 24-Mile Wind Farm Along Tri-Cities Skyline (Tri-City
Herald, WA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wa-state-energy-council-finally-000841915.html
Oregon Tribe
Challenges Offshore Wind Facility (Courthouse News Service)
https://www.courthousenews.com/oregon-tribe-challenges-offshore-wind-facility/
California Approves
Fourth Pacific Gas & Electric Rate Hike This Year. How Much Will Be Added
to Your Bill? (Sacramento Bee, CA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-approves-fourth-pg-e-181030484.html
Record Columbia
River Sockeye Run Gets a Well-Timed Break from Heat (The Chronicle, Centralia,
WA)
Oregon’s Largest
Natural Gas Company Said It Was Going Green. It Sells as Much Fossil Fuel as
Before. (ProPublica)
https://www.propublica.org/article/nw-natural-gas-oregon-fossil-fuel
News Highlights (See
Stories Below)
1. California
Approves Fourth Pacific Gas & Electric Rate Hike This Year. How Much Will
Be Added to Your Bill?
2. Oregon’s
Largest Natural Gas Company Said It Was Going Green. It Sells as Much Fossil
Fuel as Before.
3. WA
State: Franklin PUD Sued Over Its Elections. Latino Citizens Shut Out of
Choice, Lawsuit Says
4. Almost
700,000 WA Households Receive $200 Credit on Their Electric Bills
5. U.S.
Should Create ‘Virtual’ Electric Transformer Reserve Amid Shortage Concerns:
NIAC
6. U.S.
House Members Issue Support for Energy Permitting Reform in 2024
7. Do
You Really Know How the US Power Grid Works? You Should. Here’s Why.
8. WA
State Energy Council Finally Votes on 24-Mile Wind Farm Along Tri-Cities
Skyline
9. Oregon
Tribe Challenges Offshore Wind Facility
10. Who’s
The Mystery Developer in Oregon’s First Offshore Wind Energy Auction?
11. Micro-Hydroelectric
Power May Be the Next Big Climate Solution
12. As
Northwest Homes & Businesses Get More Energy Efficient, That’s Helping the
Power Grid, Report Finds
13. Record
Columbia River Sockeye Run Gets a Well-Timed Break from Heat
14. Record-Breaking
Return of Sockeye Salmon to Okanagan Spawning Grounds
15. Federal
Funding Buoys Yakama Nation’s Fish Recovery Efforts
16. Bonneville
Power Administration Funds Construction of Kelt Reconditioning Facility,
Supporting Threatened Steelhead
17. The
Count: Agencies Track Wild, Hatchery Fish in Columbia, Snake Rivers
18. Feds
Pour Cold Water on Plea to SCOTUS to Pause Updated Coal Emissions Standards
19. 500,000
People, One Aquifer: Sole Water Supply for Spokane & Coeur d’Alene Faces
Challenges
20. Oregon:
Portland Clean Energy Fund to Invest $92 Million in Community-Led Grants
21. Youth
Climate Activists Petition U.S. Supreme Court to Revive Their Case Against the
Government
22. Are
Light Poles Telecom Infrastructure?
23. Data
Centers Set to Spike U.S. Electricity Demand
24. TikTok
& The U.S. Face Off in Court Over Law That Could Lead to a Ban on the
Popular Platform
25. James
Earl Jones’ Darth Vader Voice Lives on Through Artificial Intelligence. Voice
Actors See Promise & Peril
26. A
Celestial Trifecta: What to Know About Tuesday’s Lunar Eclipse
27. Washington
Ballot Initiatives Lose Ground with Voters in New Poll
28. Election
Officials Warn That Widespread Problems with the U.S. Mail System Could Disrupt
Voting
29.
Blog: Unprecedented Partnerships for Expanding
Electricity Transmission in the West
Word of the Day
Ziggurat \ZIG-uh-ra \ Noun - An ancient
Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in
successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top; also: a
structure or object of similar form.
“They’ll never find me under this ziggurat of couch cushions,” muttered
Abercrombie with glee. Unfortunately, the tipsy structure in his palatial
office was topped with his “employee of the month” trophy, which upset the
entire pile, burying him under soft, velour boulders for the rest of the day.
Energy & Utility
Issues
1.
California Approves Fourth Pacific Gas &
Electric Rate Hike This Year. How Much Will Be Added to Your Bill? (Sacramento
Bee, CA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-approves-fourth-pg-e-181030484.html
2.
Oregon’s Largest Natural Gas Company Said It Was
Going Green. It Sells as Much Fossil Fuel as Before. (ProPublica)
https://www.propublica.org/article/nw-natural-gas-oregon-fossil-fuel
3.
WA State: Franklin PUD Sued Over Its Elections. Latino
Citizens Shut Out of Choice, Lawsuit Says (Tri-City Herald, WA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/franklin-pud-sued-over-elections-164342460.html
4.
Almost 700,000 WA Households Receive $200 Credit
on Their Electric Bills (Washington State Standard)
5.
U.S. Should Create ‘Virtual’ Electric
Transformer Reserve Amid Shortage Concerns: NIAC (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-strategic-virtual-reserve-electric-transformers-niac/726934/
6.
U.S. House Members Issue Support for Energy
Permitting Reform in 2024 (Daily Energy Insider)
7.
Do You Really Know How the US Power Grid Works? You
Should. Here’s Why. (Christian Science Monitor)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2024/0916/electric-power-grid-clean-energy
Renewable Energy &
Self Storage
8.
WA State Energy Council Finally Votes on 24-Mile
Wind Farm Along Tri-Cities Skyline (Tri-City Herald, WA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wa-state-energy-council-finally-000841915.html
9.
Oregon Tribe Challenges Offshore Wind Facility (Courthouse
News Service)
https://www.courthousenews.com/oregon-tribe-challenges-offshore-wind-facility/
10.
Who’s The Mystery Developer in Oregon’s First
Offshore Wind Energy Auction? (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
11.
Micro-Hydroelectric Power May Be the Next Big
Climate Solution (KNKX Radio, Tacoma, WA)
Conservation &
Efficiency
12.
As Northwest Homes & Businesses Get More
Energy Efficient, That’s Helping the Power Grid, Report Finds (Oregon Public
Broadcasting)
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/09/13/northwest-energy-efficiency-power-grid-report/
Fish & Wildlife
13.
Record Columbia River Sockeye Run Gets a Well-Timed
Break from Heat (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
14.
Record-Breaking Return of Sockeye Salmon to Okanagan
Spawning Grounds (Info News Canada, Kelowna)
15.
Federal Funding Buoys Yakama Nation’s Fish
Recovery Efforts (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA – Paywall Advisory)
16.
Bonneville Power Administration Funds Construction
of Kelt Reconditioning Facility, Supporting Threatened Steelhead (Bonneville
Power Administration)
17.
The Count: Agencies Track Wild, Hatchery Fish in
Columbia, Snake Rivers (Capital Press – Paywall Advisory)
Environmental Afflatus –
Clean Up on Aisle Three
18.
Feds Pour Cold Water on Plea to SCOTUS to Pause
Updated Coal Emissions Standards (Courthouse News Service)
Water, Water, Anywhere?
19.
500,000 People, One Aquifer: Sole Water Supply for
Spokane & Coeur d’Alene Faces Challenges (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)
Climate Change
Sequestration Vault
20.
Oregon: Portland Clean Energy Fund to Invest $92
Million in Community-Led Grants (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
21.
Youth Climate Activists Petition U.S. Supreme
Court to Revive Their Case Against the Government (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
London Calling
–Telecommunications
22.
Are Light Poles Telecom Infrastructure? (Pots &
Pans)
https://potsandpansbyccg.com/2024/09/16/are-light-poles-telecom-infrastructure/
The Wizarding World of
Technology & Cybersecurity
23.
Data Centers Set to Spike U.S. Electricity
Demand (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2024/09/13/electricity-demand-utilities-ai-data-centers
Public Relations,
Marketing & Media
24.
TikTok & The U.S. Face Off in Court Over Law
That Could Lead to a Ban on the Popular Platform (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-when-bytedance-china-9bb5407c93b2ab99548db17b95dc2259
25.
James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader Voice Lives on
Through Artificial Intelligence. Voice Actors See Promise & Peril (Associated
Press)
Barrel O’ Green
Potpourri – Seething Stew of Science
26.
A Celestial Trifecta: What to Know About Tuesday’s
Lunar Eclipse (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/09/16/lunar-eclipse-harvest-moon-super/
Management & Governance
27.
Washington Ballot Initiatives Lose Ground with
Voters in New Poll (Cascade PBS)
28.
Election Officials Warn That Widespread Problems
with the U.S. Mail System Could Disrupt Voting (ABC News)
Soapbox Serenade – Vox
Populi
29.
Blog: Unprecedented Partnerships for Expanding
Electricity Transmission in the West (Public Power Underground)
https://publicpowerunderground.substack.com/p/bonus-unprecedented-partnerships
Diversions – Larry Lujack’s ‘Animal Stories’
People in Iceland
Are Collecting Baby Puffins in the Streets & Throwing Them Back Into the Ocean
https://www.boredpanda.com/icelandic-town-rescues-thousands-baby-puffins/
A Cat Named Drifter
Is Safe After Sneaking Out & Getting Trapped in a Sewer for Nearly Eight Weeks
A ‘Purrfect’ Ending:
Missing Cat Found in Monroe Flies Home to Minnesota
Chelan PUD: Rocky
Reach Heralded for Dahlia Cultivation
https://kpq.com/rocky-reach-heralded-for-dahlia-cultivation/
Song of the Day
The Cowsills - The
Rain, The Park & Other Things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQOrVUbm5Xg
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.
Although I choose
stories that are accessible without paying a subscription, individual
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