Opponents of the
Sunrise Powerlink are currently waiting to see if their cries to halt the
project will be heard.
But the battle is far
from over, says the Sierra Club's San Diego Chapter.
The California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) is presently deciding whether or not it will
re-address its approval of the project, at the behest of organizations like
Sierra Club. However, Dave Grubb, a volunteer at the Sierra Club is already
anticipating the next step assuming the CPUC rejects their request.
"We have been working
so hard for 3 years that we love hearing no," Grubb said sarcastically. "The
main event is the lawsuit."
Though Grubb will not
confirm whether the Sierra Club will be part of a lawsuit, other organizations
like Utility Consumers Action Network (UCAN) said they intend to file against
SDG&E.
UCAN, already an
intervener in the case, must wait until the rehearing is rejected until they
can proceed.
"We have 90 days from
the date that the CPUC rejects our application for a hearing," said Michael
Shames, executive director of Utility Consumers Action Network.
The
Sierra Club is firm in its belief that the solution to energy concerns lies in
more localized production and more modernization. According to Grubb, they also
believe the Sunrise Powerlink is merely a way for Sempra Energy to make more
money--not a necessity for the people of San Diego. Grubb and the Sierra Club
allege the project is a front for the utility to pump energy from Mexico to the
LA basin and that the promise to carry renewables was a way to gain public
support.
Though the Sierra
Club is opposed to the transmission project as a whole, it did have a victory
over the routing of the power line. The original, proposed route SDG&E offered
up was from the Imperial Valley to San Diego through the Anza Borrego desert.
The Sierra Club fought to have Sunrise take a southern route through more
populated regions near Interstate 8 avoiding what Grubb calls "sensitive land."
Grubb said it was curious
SDG&E proposed a northern route through the desert to begin with and
suspected it was a strategic move to funnel energy toward Los Angeles.
"You
can see why they want the Northern Route. They're not trying to get to San
Diego. They're trying to get to LA," he said.
Grubb also speculated
the northern route was a distraction from the beginning, so that opponents
would be grateful for the compromised path.
The
large renewable project that is affiliated with the Sunrise Powerlink is a
Stirling Energy solar farm that is to be built in the Imperial Valley.
"It's
total B.S., a sham. Unlikely to ever be consummated at least on scale they're
currently pretending," Grubb said of the solar facility.
The
Sierra Club fundamentally opposes projects like Sunrise that will disrupt the
environment whether it's because of new transmission lines or large scale
renewable production sites. Though when asked Grubb had no specific solutions,
other than solar panels in urban areas--an idea that has been called not
sufficient enough to support the energy needs of a county like San Diego.
"We
have enough transmission, but there is a reliability issue," for San Diego said
Grubb.
The
two lines that feed San Diego are Southwest Powerlink and Path 44, which is a
north-south transmission line through California. The pair is a far cry from
the seven lines that feed Los Angeles. Grubb conceded that two lines were not
enough. In a situation like the
2007 wildfires that raged through San Diego, both lines that power San Diego
were threatened, and additional lines would have added stability to the regions
energy needs.
"So it's a reliability issue that
potentially there could be some benefit in additional connections," Grubb said.
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