Conflict over Sunrise Powerlink transmission line project could be decided this week
The conflict between the need to develop renewable energy resources and the environmental impact of these projects will come to a head this Thursday when the California Public Utilities Commission will decide on a major transmission line project in San Diego County.
Proponents of the project, termed the Sunrise Powerlink, argue that this massive 1000 MW transmission line from Imperial County in the east, through the Anza-Borrego Desert, and into northern San Diego County is essential to adding solar, wind, and geothermal energy to the region’s electricity mix. Opponents argue that the renewable energy slated to be generated in the deserts east of the city is unproven and that the Sunrise Powerlink should take a more environmentally friendly route, if at all.
We will be exploring this issue in more depth as it develops.
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3 Comments on Conflict over Sunrise Powerlink transmission line project could be decided this week
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Bob on
Sun, 14th Dec 2008 3:02 pm
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Richard Mercer on
Tue, 16th Dec 2008 12:38 am
The proposed Sunrise Powerlink is not about tapping into renewable energy.
Sempra wants to tap into fossil fuel burning plants just over the border in Mexicali.
If it’s true that this is a grab for something other than the solar project, the opposition may or may not be right.
My only concern is that environmentalist don’t act wrongheaded when it comes to developing solar plants in the southwest. Solar thermal power with heat storage is what Joe Romm at Climate Progress calls a core climate solution. It is maybe The Key energy solution for a clean grid.
This is because of it’s ability to put out steady power like a coal plant, but that revs up right in sinc with the energy demand and continues to generate into the night. It’s really our only current technology renewable that can do that. If we are going to replace coal plants, we need this. The impact on the desert will be limited to a relatively small area. To block it would be a case of not seeing the forest for the trees.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/04/14/solar_electric_thermal/index.html
http://climateprogress.org/2008/04/14/concentrated-solar-thermal-power-a-core-climate-solution/
Please contribute to the discussion by leaving a comment below. No need to agree with the post or other commenters, but please be constructive and respectful.
Donna T Reply:
December 15th, 2008 at 8:54 am
The PUC’s Assigned Administrative Law Judge issued a proposed decision in October denying the Sunrise Powerlink– based on the extensive record developed over several years of intense debate.
The final EIR found that a mix of renewable energy and several peaker plants, in-basin, will be less expensive for ratepayers and less damaging to the environment and impacted communities.
The Utilities Consumer Action Network stated in comments submitted to the PUC in November, that the combined price tag for Sunrise Powerlink and the questionable remote renewable energy project exceeds $24 billion. SDG&E never mentions these little critical details when they solicit support from various groups, organizations, and individuals, and the media.
As San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob stated, you don’t need a 150 mile extension cord to import renewable energy into sunny San Diego. Sunrise Powerlink is a greenwashed scam. If it were truely green, why would SDG&E balk at having the CPUC condition approval of the line to carry a majority of green energy?
Donna Tisdale
Boulevard, CA
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