Sunrise Powerlink in the News

San Diego Union-Tribune
OP-ED: Meeting California's energy needs
August 18, 2008
According to the California Energy Commission, seven transmission line projects are pending final approval but are aggressively opposed by local interests. For example, the Sunrise Powerlink, a major transmission line designed to transport solar and geothermal power from the Imperial Valley to the San Diego area, has languished four years in the permitting process, and it continues to face stiff opposition.
Read more »

The Desert Sun
OP-ED: Sunrise Powerlink best way to transport renewable energy
August 2, 2008
The Sunrise Powerlink, a 150-mile transmission line in the San Diego area, has become a textbook case study of what happens when environmentalists demand renewable energy but go to great lengths to derail projects that would deliver what they say is needed. There is no real debate about the fact that this transmission line would access abundant sources of clean, renewable energy in the Imperial Valley, one of the richest sources of untapped renewable energy in the country. But the paradox is that it is met at every turn by opposition based on environmental issues, borne largely of misinformation.
Read more »

San Diego Union-Tribune
Powerlink delay has mayor fuming at PUC
July 17, 2008
Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox yesterday denounced the most recent delay of the 150-mile power line as a move that would further pollute the air and cost the public more money.
Read more »

Las Vegas Review-Journal
Editorial: Who could object to a 'green' power line?
June 23, 2008
It's not far-fetched to imagine these litigious environmentalists' objections to the San Diego plan could have a ripple effect, cooling the ardor of clean-energy startups and energy investors elsewhere to spend years and millions of dollars developing renewable proposals, only to face lawsuits and regulatory appeals from anti-capitalist extremists that could make it all but impossible to recoup investment costs, let alone turn a profit.
Read more »

The Desert Sun
Sunrise solar power line deserves careful consideration
July 13, 2008
Energy projects have far-reaching impacts, so we must be careful what is built and why, and how it will affect the end user. . . We need to invest in an infrastructure to move power. We need upgrades.
Read more »

Imperial Valley Press (registration required)
A Reader Writes: Do not delay Powerlink
July 5, 2008
The recent decision by the California Public Utilities Commission to again delay a decision on the Sunrise Powerlink should not come as welcome news to the Imperial Valley.
Read more »

The Wall Street Journal
You Can't Get There From Here
June 30, 2008
Utilities are moving to harvest more power from renewable-energy sources like the wind and sun. The problem is getting that power to the places that need it.
Read more »

CNN.com
U.S. utility faces opposition on renewable energy line plan
June 16, 2008
It seems like an idea any environmentalist would embrace: Build one of the world's largest solar power operations in the Southern California desert and surround it with plants that run on wind and underground heat.
Read more »

The Wall Street Journal
Green Line: California Transmission Battle Divides Environmentalists
April 28, 2008
Renewable energy is nice in theory. But what about in practice?
Read more »

Op-Ed: Sacramento Bee
Greens like idea of renewable energy, balk at the reality
April 23, 2008
San Diego Gas & Electric wants to develop solar geothermal fields in Imperial Valley and build 150 miles of transmission lines to go and take this power right into San Diego, but it faces opposition even though it would replace an old carbon-based power plant. So the point I'm making is it's not just businesses that have slowed things down, it's not just Republicans that have slowed things down, it's also Democrats and also environmental activists sometimes that slow things down. ... I don't know whether this is ironic or absurd. But, I mean, if we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave Desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it.
Read More »

Keynote Address:
Yale Climate Change Conference
April 18, 2008
On April 18, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered the keynote address at the 2008 Conference of Governors on Climate Change at Yale University. Read excerpts from his speech that emphasizes the need for Sunrise Powerlink.
Read More »

Editorial: San Diego Union-Tribune
Yes to the Powerlink
February 27, 2008
SDG&E's proposed Sunrise Powerlink, a $ 1.3 billion transmission line to import renewable supplies from Imperial County, would satisfy all three of these criteria – increased production, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and more generation from solar, wind and geothermal sources. The Imperial Valley is one of the most promising sites in the country for renewable energy development. But this development simply will not occur if the PUC rejects the transmission line to urban San Diego.
Read More »

Wall Street Journal:
Green Projects Generate Splits in Activist Groups
December 13, 2007
Even as Americans become convinced they need to change the way they power their lives, the environmental community is splintering over how to do that. Does ethanol promote clean fuel or destroy the rural landscape? Is emission-free electricity worth turning mountains into wind farms?
Read More »

San Diego Union-Tribune:
OP-ED: Build the Powerlink
November 18, 2007
SDG&E's proposed $1.5 billion transmission corridor, known as the Sunrise Powerlink, has met reflexive opposition from property owners along the projected right-of-way. But the disastrous fires that hit the county in October dramatically underscore the urgent need for the Sunrise Powerlink. The project merits approval by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Read More »

Riverside Press-Enterprise:
OP-ED: Transmit Vital Energy
November 4, 2007
The only way to quench California's thirst for electricity: Install more power lines.
Read More »

San Diego Union Tribune:
National energy corridors OK'd, may pave way for Sunrise Powerlink
October 2, 2007
The U.S. Department of Energy said Tuesday that it has designated two national energy corridors – one including San Diego County – in which the federal government has authorization in some circumstances to issue permits for new transmission facilities.
Read More »

OP-ED: It's Time to Invest in California's Energy Future
October 1, 2007
As temperatures climbed to triple digits across California recently, utilities faced their first challenge of the year to secure energy supplies and keep the lights on.  Indeed, the state's power grid operator called the year's first Stage 1 emergency as utilities dipped low into California's electricity reserves as the demand for power surged.
Read More »

Voice of San Diego:
Powerlink is Right Choice
September 12, 2007
In case you haven't heard of the Sunrise Powerlink, it's a proposed 150-mile power line between San Diego and the Imperial Valley that will secure future energy reliability for SDG&E customers and expand access to clean, renewable power supplies, which in turn helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region.
Read More »

VoiceofSanDiego.org Letter to the Editor:
Electricity Needed for Fridges
August 30, 2007
The California Restaurant Association has endorsed the Sunrise Powerlink because reliable power is paramount for our members.
Read More »

VoiceofSanDiego.org Letter to the Editor:
Sunrise Will Keep the Lights On
August 28, 2007
Plain and simple, if the lights go out, many of our workers go home without a paycheck.
Read More »

NBCSanDiego.com:
Report: SDG&E Fights Ruling Delaying Powerlink
August 20, 2007
San Diego Gas and Electric Co. has asked the state power commission to reconsider a ruling that would delay approval of a massive power line project for five months, according to the North County Times.
Read More »

North County Times Editorial:
Sun shouldn't set on Powerlink plan
August 1, 2007
Our view: SDG&E's transmission line suffers setbacks, but still has merit
Read More »

KPBS:
SDG&E corrections to plan spur delay
July 27, 2007
A final environmental report is now expected early next year, rather than next month. The ort, Grueneich said, would make it impossible for SDG&E to complete the project by 2010 if it were approved.
Read More »

North County Times:
Desert powerline good for coast
June 30, 2007
Sunrise Powerlink could bring big environmental, and some economic, benefits to North County.
Read More »

San Diego Union Tribune Editorial:
Transmission line merits PUC approval
June 24, 2007
San Diego County's electric utility went on the offensive Friday in defending its proposed power line, saying a consumer group's alternate plan for keeping the lights on is a collection of "Band-Aids and quick fixes" that won't significantly curb costs.
Read More »

North County Times:
SDG&E: Consumer group plan 'crumbles under microscope'
June 15, 2007
San Diego County's demand for electricity is surging at about double the rate of population growth.
Read More »

Press-Enterprise Editorial:
Power Congestion
August 16, 2006
Southern California cannot build power plants fast enough to meet the local demand for energy. The region's need to import power makes new transmission lines a critical priority for regulators and the public.
Read More »