Friday, April 26, 2013

Glencore Still Hopes to Reopen Columbia Falls Aluminum (Daily Interlake, Kalispell, MT)


The Best Utility Brands of 2013 – Snohomish PUD #2, SMUD #4, Portland General Electric #6, Idaho Power #7, Seattle City Light #9 (E-Source)


Idaho Power Seeks to End Excess Green Energy Credit Payouts (Northwest Public Radio)


Energy Efficiency Means Lower Utility Bills, Less Mortgage Risk (Christian Science Monitor)


In Two-Way Charging, Electric Cars Begin to Earn Money from the Grid (NY Times)


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 26, 2013


Thursday, April 25, 2013

Studies Mull Impact of Closing Nuclear Power Plant near Richland (Tri-City Herald, WA)


How to Charge Millions of Electric Cars? Not All at Once (NY Times)


Nest Labs: Proof Life Exists in the Smart Grid Ecosystem (Forbes Magazine)


Exergy Sued by Cycling Organizers in Colorado (KTVB-TV, Boise, ID)


Washington State Legislature - Special Session Likely, Inslee Says (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)\


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 25, 2013


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Tri-Cities Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown worth Analysis, Says Doctors Group (Portland Business Journal, OR)


Google Contemplates New Data Centers in the Dalles (Oregonian, Portland, OR)


Klamath Basin Scientists Get Apology from Federal Agency over Bias Claim (Associated Press)


Newsrooms May Revisit Security after Associated Press Hacking (USA Today)


Mason County PUD 3 Looking for Real Estate Broker (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 24, 2013


Tacoma Power Crew Gets Kudos for Creative Mossyrock Dam Solution (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)


(MOSSYROCK, WA) -- How do you get the moss off the face of the Mossyrock dam?  Tacoma Power employees have dangled below in a bucket to power wash the face of the state’s tallest dam.  It’s more than 600 feet tall.   Now, two employees at the Cowlitz River Project have come up with a remote-controlled pressure washer. It does the trick with someone needing to hang over the front of the dam.   Tacoma Power needs to remove the moss at some of its dams every three to five years so federal inspectors can do safety inspections.  Watch Tacoma Power’s video on the project here.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Shots Fired at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBIR-TV, Knoxville, TN)


California Faces Big Power Shortage - The strain on the grid could be reminiscent of 2000 & 2001 blackouts (Associated Press)


Washington State Company Plans Five Wind Turbines Off Coos Bay (Associated Press)


Officials Project Largest Fall Columbia River Chinook Salmon Run in Years (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)


Sediment Woes for Port Angeles Water Treatment Facility Put Elwha Dam Removal on Hold (Northwest Public Radio)


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 23, 2013


Friday, April 19, 2013

U-S Senate Energy Committee Gives Ernest Moniz Thumbs-Up for Energy Post (Politico)


PUD Commissioners from Pend Oreille, Pacific, Chelan & Lewis Counties Assume Leadership Positions for Statewide PUD Association (Washington PUD Association)


SolarWorld Germany Projects More Huge Losses - With No Effect on Oregon Operations, Hillsboro Spokesman Says (Oregonian, Portland, OR)


Europe’s Carbon Market Crisis: Why Does it Matter? (National Geographic)


Controversial Dredge Mining Ban Advances in Oregon Senate for Fish-Bearing Streams (Oregon Public Radio)


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 19, 2013


PUD Commissioners from Pend Oreille, Pacific, Chelan & Lewis Counties assume leadership positions for statewide PUD association (Washington PUD Association)



Washington PUD Association elects new officers for 2013-2014

(OLYMPIA) -- PUD Commissioners from four public utility districts assumed top leadership positions for 2013-2014 as the Washington Public Utility Districts Association (WPUDA) announced the election of its new officers today. The new officers include two PUD Commissioners from the west side of the state and two from the east side. Pend Oreille PUD Commissioner Curt Knapp was elected to serve as President, Pacific County PUD Commissioner Diana Thompson was elected Vice-President, Chelan County PUD Commissioner Dennis Bolz was elected Secretary, and Lewis County PUD Commissioner Ben Kostick was elected to serve a second term as Treasurer.

The officers serve on the Association’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors, providing oversight and recommendations in support of WPUDA’s mission. The Washington PUD Association represents 27 not-for-profit, community-owned public utility districts and one-joint operating agency, Energy Northwest. WPUDA member PUDs provide electrical, water and wastewater, and wholesale telecommunications services to approximately one-million residential, business and industrial customers in communities across Washington. The new officers assume an important leadership role in achieving the Association’s mission to support, protect and enhance members’ ability to conserve power and water resources of the state and to provide not-for-profit, locally-controlled utility services.

“It is an honor to represent the members of the Washington PUD Association as President and I am looking forward to a challenging and rewarding year,” said Curt Knapp, newly-elected President. “My focus this year will be to work with the members of WPUDA to collaboratively promote and protect the interests of our customer-owners and ensure that PUDs continue to have the ability to provide safe, reliable and affordable, not-for-profit services,” said Knapp. “We have great opportunity, working together, to affect positive change and enact sound public policy that supports our economy and keeps people comfortable in their homes while preserving and protecting our environment.”

Pacific County Commissioner Diana Thompson moves into her new position as Vice President having served as the Association’s Secretary last year. Thompson is looking forward to her new role and the opportunities it presents. "I am grateful for the opportunity to work as part of the leadership team in an organization that provides great value to communities served by public utility districts including Pacific County,” she said.

Chelan PUD Commissioner Dennis Bolz has been active in the Association for seven years, serving on the Government Relations Committee and organizing and speaking at orientation programs for new PUD Commissioners. “Collaboration and good information are important tools for PUD commissioners,” said Bolz, who was elected Association Secretary. “Public power has a great story to tell, and WPUDA plays an important role in the conversation on local control, affordable utility rates and community service.”

Lewis County PUD Commissioner Ben Kostick has been elected to serve another term as the Association’s Treasurer, a position that taps his professional skill as a Certified Public Accountant. While the other officers serve in their positions for one year, the Treasurer position is a two-year term. ‘I am pleased to be able to use my professional experience to support the work of the Association and I am looking forward to serving a second term as Treasurer. I appreciate the opportunity to work in cooperation with other public utility districts to protect the interest of Lewis County PUD customers as well as other PUD ratepayers across the state.” 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

U-S Senate Declares April 18 National Lineman’s Appreciation Day (American Public Power Association, Mason County PUD No. 3, Shelton, WA)


Oregon Kills First Salmon-Eating Sea Lion of 2013 at Bonneville Dam (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/04/oregon_kills_first_salmon-eati.html

Bonneville Power Administration Plan Would Share Costs of Wind-Power Shutdown – BPA proposes to share the costs of shutting down wind turbines when energy production exceeds demand (Seattle Times, WA)


Speed Matters — Google Fiber Brings One-Gig Internet to Provo, UT (Provo Daily Herald, UT)


Facebooking with Coworkers? 40% Will Do Something Wrong (Portland Business Journal, OR)


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 18, 2013


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Official: Suspect in Custody in Boston Bombings (Associated Press)



Greenhouse Gas - Second Suit Targets California’s Cap-And-Trade Program (Sacramento Bee, CA)


Bonneville Power Administration Revises Oversupply Rate Proposal (Albany Tribune, OR)


Conservation Groups Lists Rivers in Southern Oregon, Idaho as Most Endangered (Northwest Public Radio)


Tribe Closes Lake Quinault to Non-Tribal Fishing (Associated Press)


Pend Oreille County to Get Broadband (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 17, 2013


Friday, April 12, 2013

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 12, 2013


Bonneville Power Administration Seeks Comment on Proposed Walla Walla Hatchery (Bonneville Power Administration)


(PORTLAND, OR) --The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have a plan to construct and operate a hatchery that would be a key step in attempts to bring naturally spawning spring Chinook back to the Walla Walla River Basin—a place they have not been for more than 75 years.

The Bonneville Power Administration as the funding partner is seeking public input on the plan.

The proposed Walla Walla Basin Spring Chinook Hatchery Program would expand the existing adult holding and spawning facility on the South Fork Walla Walla River near Milton-Freewater in Umatilla County, Ore. This is the latest project in an ongoing restoration program in the basin that addresses habitat, fish passage and flow improvements.

Up to 500,000 yearling spring Chinook smolts would be produced annually at the facility from brood stock collected downstream at the Nursery Bridge Dam. The hatchery would be used to hatch and rear juvenile spring Chinook with releases of smolts and adults planned for Walla Walla River tributaries in both Oregon and Washington.

BPA will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act that considers two options: funding the Tribes’ proposal; or a no-action alternative of not funding. The EIS will describe anticipated impacts to natural and human resources, including steps to avoid or minimize those impacts.

As the initial scope of the EIS is developed to produce a draft document, input from the public helps BPA make well-informed decisions and ensures a thorough analysis of the project.

“We want to know what people are concerned about,” said Jay Marcotte, a fish and wildlife project manager for BPA. “Do they have questions about the project? Do they know something about a particular stretch of river or other species that this proposal might impact? We want to be able to address that in the EIS.”

Public comments will be accepted through April 29, 2013. Additionally, public scoping meetings will be held on April 16 and April 17.

• MILTON-FREEWATER
Tuesday, April 16, 6-8 p.m.
Milton-Freewater Community Building

109 N.E. 5th Ave., Milton-Freewater, Ore.


• DAYTON
Wednesday, April 17, 6-8 p.m.
Dayton Elementary School
302 E. Park St., Dayton, Wash.


Each meeting will include a brief overview of the proposal from 6:30-7 p.m. Members of the project team will be on hand with maps and information. They will answer questions as well as accept oral and written comments.

Comments will be accepted through April 29 and can also be submitted online at www.bpa.gov/comment, by fax at 503-230-4019, by voice at 800-622-4519 or via mail to Bonneville Power Administration, Public Affairs Office – DKE-7, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR 97293-4428. Be sure to reference the “Walla Walla Basin Spring Chinook Hatchery Program” when submitting comments.

If constructed, the project would be funded as part of the 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords and BPA’s responsibilities under the Northwest Power Act. To find out more about the proposed hatchery program, please visit www.bpa.gov/goto/WallaWallaHatchery.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Washington State Snowpack At 112 Percent, Best in the West (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)


Montana - NorthWestern Energy Trying to Restrict Wind Energy Contracts (Ravalli Republic, MT)


Uncertain Future for Sea Lion Hazing Program at Willamette Falls (Oregonian, Portland)


U-S Army Corp of Engineers Prepares Snake River Dredging Plans (Northwest Public Radio)


Pension Maneuvers Hit Washington State Fund Hard (Associated Press)


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 8, 2013


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Oregon Reservoirs Low Heading Into Irrigation Season (Oregon Public Broadcasting)


Chelan & Douglas PUDs Hit Milestone Targets For Fish Survival (Wenatchee World, WA)


New Front in Western Wind Energy War: FERC vs. Idaho (The Energy Collective)


Washington State Bill to Allow Employer Access to Facebook Passwords Rejected (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)


LED Streetlights Move from Pilot Projects to Widespread Use (Midwest Energy News)


Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 4, 2013


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Army Corps of Engineers Studies Threat of Quakes to Oregon, Southwest Washington Dams (Associated Press)


FERC Won’t Charge Hydro Licensees for Land Subject to Power Site Reservation – Order sought by eight utilities, including Chelan County & Grant County PUDs (American Public Power Association)


Cloudy Days for a Washington-State Community Solar Effort (Grist Online)


Environmental Group Fights Delay in Marbled Murrelet Habitat Protections (Oregon Public Broadcasting)


Biorefinery Lays Off Eastern Oregon Workers (Northwest Public Radio)



Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 2, 2013


Monday, April 1, 2013

Today’s The Day for Electrical Power Switch for East Jefferson County (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)


Sudden Large Smelt Run Likely Reason for High Numbers of Sea Lions Plying Lower Columbia River (Columbia Basin Bulletin)


Op/Ed - Water Has Power to Keep Creating Clean Energy (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)


Op/Ed - Initiative 937: People Power Means Clean Power for the People of Washington State - Washington’s clean-energy law is working to reduce the state’s carbon emissions (Seattle Times, WA)


Some Phone Companies Seek to End Landline Service - The companies say money spent maintaining the old infrastructure could be invested in technology upgrades (USA Today)



Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 1, 2013