What is the Sunrise Powerlink?

Key Project Facts

• Proposed by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), the Sunrise Powerlink is a 150-mile electric transmission line that will deliver reliable and renewable power from the Imperial Valley to San Diego.
  
  
• The Sunrise Powerlink will import 1,000 megawatts of energy - enough to power more than 650,000 homes and businesses in San Diego and southern Orange counties.
  
  
• Currently, the San Diego region is only connected to the state's energy grid by two transmission lines, the last one built nearly 20 years ago. The Sunrise Powerlink will add a vital new link to the state's grid, improving energy security throughout Southern California.
  
  
• By tapping new sources of clean energy in California's Imperial Valley region and lessening the need to build more traditional power plants that use fossil fuels, the Sunrise Powerlink will help California meet its clean-air mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the use of renewable energy. Estimates show the Sunrise Powerlink will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 million tons each year compared to the California Public Utilities Commission draft plan to build up to five new power plants in San Diego.
  
  
• The Sunrise Powerlink will cost approximately $1.5 billion. Because this transmission line will strengthen the energy grid for the entire state, its cost - and benefits - will be spread to ratepayers throughout the state.
  
  
• The Sunrise Powerlink will expand access to more affordable energy supplies and reduce the need to run older, inefficient power plants that are very expensive to operate. The new line will also relieve electricity bottlenecks on existing transmission lines that that cost consumers millions of dollars each year to manage logjams on the grid. Studies show the line could save California ratepayers more than $100 million per year in energy costs.
  
  
• The Sunrise Powerlink enjoys widespread support among elected officials, government agencies, numerous business and labor organizations, and individual ratepayers throughout the state. In addition, the California Energy Commission and the California Independent System Operator support the project.
  
  
  • "The Sunrise Powerlink stands to take that relationship one step further by providing direct access to clean, renewable energy sources ranging from wind to geothermal, plus connecting the San Diego region to what could become the largest solar energy facility in the world."

    -Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

  • "[The Sunrise Powerlink] Project solves San Diego's known import reliability problem for 2010 and beyond without introducing any new reliability concerns."

    -CAISO South Regional Transmission Plan for 2006

  • "[Sunrise Powerlink] would provide significant near-term system reliability benefits to California, reduce system congestion and its resultant costs, and provide an interconnection to both renewable resources located in the Imperial Valley and lower cost out-of-state generation."

    - California Energy Commission 2006 Integrated Energy Policy Report Update

  
  
  

Approval Process & Timeline

• The Sunrise Powerlink is going through an extensive environmental review and licensing process managed by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the state agency with the authority to approve this transmission line. The CPUC released the draft environmental impact report (EIR) in January 2008. Additional hearings on the line were held in April and May, 2008. The final EIR is likely to be completed in October. The CPUC could make a final decision on the Sunrise Powerlink by the end of 2008.