How San Diego Scored a $1.9B Solar, Wind Power Line

SAN DIEGO -- Last week, California regulators approved a $1.9 billion high-voltage power line, giving a major victory to the San Diego utility that says it needs the transmission route to harness solar, wind and underground heat from a distant desert.

Thursday, Dec. 18, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-1 for San Diego Gas & Electric Co.'s Sunrise Powerlink, which would run 123 miles from California's economically depressed Imperial Valley to the nation's eighth-largest city and carry enough power for about 750,000 homes.

Commissioners cast aside concerns that SDG&E will never deliver on promises to use the line for renewable power, that it will blight the mountain landscape with 150-foot towers, and that ratepayers will pick up the tab.

Commissioner John Bohn said the promises of renewable energy and jobs outweighed concerns about the project's cost and uncertainty about how the line would be used.

"I don't blame people for being a little skeptical of the market system," he said. "This represents a very close call."

Commissioner Dian Grueneich dissented, saying she endorsed the power line but wanted requirements to ensure it is used for renewable energy. An administrative law judge recommended commissioners reject the proposal.

The vote is also a victory for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and elected officials of Imperial County, where the unemployment rate reached 27.6 percent in October. They urged that it be approved without conditions.

The commission has held marathon public hearings since SDG&E asked permission to build the line three years ago and it commissioned an 11,000-page report on its potential impact on the environment. SDG&E, a unit of San Diego-based Sempra Energy (SRE Quote), dropped initial plans to cut 23 miles through the middle of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a spot known for hiking trails, wildflowers, palm groves, cacti and spectacular mountain views.