Cleveland National Forest Approves Sunrise Powerlink
July 13, 2010 - More than five years after first proposing a big power line linking San Diego to the Imperial Valley, San Diego Gas & Electric Co. today is getting the news it has been waiting for — the last big roadblock to construction of the $1.9 billion Sunrise Powerlink is gone.
The Cleveland National Forest is approving construction and operation of the 1,000-megawatt line on 19 miles of forest land. See The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The US Forest Service approved this unnecessary transmission line despite these points below, extracted from the comments of former Cleveland National Forest Supervisor, Ann Fege.
"The need for the project is not substantiated, as outlined in the application to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the Final EIR/EIS, and the Supplemental Information Form for the Special Use Authorization application.
"It is assumed that the powerline would transmit electricity from large-scale renewable energy plants located in the desert, when there is undeveloped (and unplanned for) capacity for solar energy production at the point of consumption. Such plants would occupy thousands of acres of land that now has high ecological value. All of San Diego County has high solar radiation and hundreds of thousands of houses, parking lots, and other buildings that could be retrofitted with solar energy panels and generate electricity and eliminate the need for the long-distance transmission line.
"During deliberations for approval of this powerline, the CPUC and others have determined that the existing transmission lines serving San Diego County have unused capacity, and that additional power generation capacity could be generated within the County that would not require transmission by this or other powerlines. The dedicated use (special use authorization) could open the door to FERC designation as a regional power corridor and could expand the 200-foot wide easement up to 3,000 ft and destroy natural ecosystems through 19 miles of the Forest."
Forest Service Public Comment Period
June 25, 2010 - The official public comment period for the US Forest Service decision on the Sunrise Powerlink is June 29. Please send letters to:
Mail: William Metz, Forest Supervisor, 10845 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92127, ATTN: Sunrise Powerlink Comments. Fax: (858) 673-6192. E-mail: mailroom_r5_cleveland@fs.fed.us, with a subject line of “Sunrise Powerlink Comments.” Phone: (858) 673-6180.
Talking Points:
•Thank the Forest Service for delaying the project but ask that they follow the law and prepare a full “Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement” and to distribute this for public review.
•Ask for a public hearing during this 45-day comment period.
•Oppose the Sunrise Powerlink because it’s not needed and would irreparably harm nature, communities, and property.
Talk about your experiences in the Cleveland NF and how important this wild forest is to you and your family
•Express your concern that the Sunrise Powerlink would unnecessarily undermine existing forest plan goals to limit fire risk, protect scenic natural views, and to protect riparian and roadless areas.
•Remind the Forest Service of its independent duty to protect the Cleveland National Forest and to consider smart, local, renewable energy alternatives to the powerlink. The Forest Service is not bound to the bad decisions and ignorance of other agencies.
•Express that the Forest Service’s internal “supplemental information report” cannot replace a legitimate Supplement Environmental Impact Statement. Point out that the supplemental information report hasn’t even been made public and ask that this be made available for public review with another public comment period.
Green Electrons?
San Diego Gas & Electric Co. promised investors that its biggest project ever, the controversial $1.9 billion Sunrise Powerlink was needed to bring power to San Diego from wind turbines in the East County and Mexico, plus solar and geothermal plants in the Imperial Valley. It would be a 120-mile-long 500 kV transmission line. SDG&E wants to begin construction in June and have 1,000 megawatts coursing through the line by 2012. The project would be paid for by California utility customers through electricity bills. Approved by the Bureau of Land Management and the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the project is currently hung up over U.S. Forest Service permits and lawsuits.
The PUC gave the line the go-ahead in December 2008 after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger voiced his support, but only if the route avoided Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. SDG&E wanted to build the line through the park. The PUC’s approval came over the objections of an administrative law judge and a commissioner who had studied the line. The commissioner said it wouldn’t make environmental or financial sense unless it was dedicated solely to bringing power from renewable energy projects to San Diego. SDG&E said it could not promise that. There is question about how much fossil fuel energy SDg&E's parent company, Sempra Energy, actually wants to connect with in Mexico.
Environmentalists, consumer advocates and backcountry residents have gone to court to ask judges to set aside those agencies’ approvals. The line was not properly studied because much of the discussion in the 11,000-page environmental impact report focused on the route through Anza-Borrego.
One-sixth of the line crosses the Cleveland National Forest, and the company is pressing the forest supervisor, William Metz, to approve it without a new environmental review.
See Desert Protective Council >>here.
SUNRISE POWERLINK: A BATTLE FOR CALIFORNIA’S ENERGY FUTURE
By Lawrence Hogue >>495 kb pdf.
See AnzaBorrego.net.
California Public Utilities Commission page.
^Map showing transmission lines proposed by SDG&E.
^RETI map showing solar (yellow) and wind (blue) project proposals in western Imperial and eastern San Diego Counties (from California Energy Commission).
In the News
May 16, 2010 - The Cleveland National Forest chief, Forest Supervisor William Metz, said he still doesn’t have enough information and wants to hear from the public about possible impacts on the forest, another 45 days of comment. Construction, which was supposed to begin in June, will be delayed until after Metz analyzes the comments and decides whether to approve the permit or undertake an even more thorough environmental review. The San Diego Union-Tribune.
April 24, 2010 - San Diego Gas and Electric is awaiting one more government approval to begin the construction of the Sunrise Powerlink from the Imperial Valley to San Diego...Imperial Valley Press Online.
April 24, 2010 - The people in El Monte Valley came there to live in the country just a few miles from the city, with El Capitan mountain towering over the dairy and horse ranches along a two-lane road. Now the residents of this Lakeside community have banded together to fight two massive projects that many feel would destroy their way of life — the Sunrise Powerlink and a sand-mining and water-reclamation project...The San Diego Union-Tribune.
April 21, 2010 - Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, has officially asked the Department of the Interior to conduct a new environmental review for the route of a planned high-energy transmission line, according to a letter he sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week... North County Times.
March 26, 2010 - Feinstein pushes for Sunrise approval. Her comments surprise opponents of power line...SDG&E is about to sign a construction contract, has begun taking people’s land through eminent domain and has had special cable manufactured, said Niggli, who becomes the company’s president next month.... San Diego Union-Tribune.
February 15, 2010 - Cross(border) winds: California looks to Mexico for renewable energy projects...High Country News.
HOME.....Imperial Valley Solar Project (Solar 2).....Ocotillo Wind Project
