Sunrise Powerlink still generating heat
An environmental group has asked the California Supreme Court to review a controversial transmission project that was approved last month by the California Public Utilities Commission.
A petition filed late Wednesday by the Center for Biological Diversity alleges that the commission violated California environmental law by failing to ensure that the proposed Sunrise Powerlink would be used principally to carry renewable energy and by rejecting alternative routes that would have avoided fragile wilderness areas.
"Sunrise ... would sacrifice sensitive public lands and vital habitat without any guarantee the line will be used to deliver clean energy," said Ileene Anderson, Los Angeles spokeswoman for the environmental group.
The center also plans to ask the commission for a rehearing on the $1.9-billion project, which it contends is too costly and unnecessary, Anderson said.
Wednesday’s petition, which was expected, is just the latest skirmish in a lengthy dispute over Sunrise. Proposed by San Diego Gas & Electric, the ratepayer-financed transmission line is to run 123 miles from Imperial County to San Diego, crossing remote areas of the San Diego backcountry and the Cleveland National Forest.
SDG&E says the line is necessary for it to meet state mandates to boost its use of renewable power by ensuring there is enough transmission to transport energy from remote wind, solar and geothermal projects to urban areas where it’s needed.
Opponents say it’s a costly boondoggle that will destroy unique desert habitat while allowing SDG&E to transport fossil-fuel-based electricity through the lines. They contend that funds would be better spent developing urban solar projects that use existing transmission infrastructure.
Commission spokeswoman Terrie Prosper said she couldn’t comment on a pending appeal of a commission decision. California’s high court can take as long as it wants to make a decision on whether to hear the petition.
— Marla Dickerson
i just gave CBD $50 to support this and other efforts to stop Big Energy mercenaries from destroying our open spaces. i don't care if they kill our environment with Wind, Gas, Transmission or Solar, it's still dead, and that is an unacceptable outcome, since every city here has the capacity to be a major EXPORTER of solar power if only a small percentage of rooftops were to be covered in PV panels. This was clearly the "best alternative" under the CEQA analysis, but CPUC decided to just blatantly refuse to use the best alternative, and instead to feed the Big Energy pigs at the trough once again.
what is needed is AB 811 financing, generous feed in tariffs and a revision of the CA Solar Initiative to not only ALLOW, but to ENCOURAGE ratepayer generators to oversize their systems. CA could reach it's RPS in a matter of a few years if it offered the same programs as 45 other nations, notably, Germany, Spain, Japan and even Albania.
yes, folks, California is WAAAYYY behind Albania in energy policies. Too much time grandstanding and talking about how green it is (you know who you are Arnold and Antonio), not enough time actually THINKING about how to generate the most clean power, by doing the least harm to the environment and offering the greatest benefits to ratepayers. y'all don't have to invent anything - other countries have spent 20 years trying everything out. all we have to do is copy them!
Sunrise Powerlink is just one example of the Big Energy Boondoggles coming to a beautiful open space near you. LADWP is hell-bent on destroying the Joshua Tree area to prevent YOU from getting paid for generating solar power on your house. Monopoly at all costs - same as it ever was. If you don't speak up and DEMAND loan, tariff and oversizing policies, you will not only lose your beloved getaways, but you will certainly feel the noose tighten as they re-entrench their chokeholds over ratepayers in an era when we could all be happy, clean power plants instead of miserable, broke victims.
NO to Big Energy. Yes to self reliance and policies that will HELP the environment and ratepayers!
Posted by: sheila | January 22, 2009 at 06:40 PM