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Environment

US Forest Service Approves SDG&E Sunrise Powerlink Through Cleveland National Forest

By Ed Joyce / Reporter
Published July 13, 2010 at 10:33 AM PDT
This story was published more than 14 years ago.
The proposed route for the Sunrise Powerlink.
SDG&E
The proposed route for the Sunrise Powerlink.
U.S. Forest Service Approves SDG&E Sunrise Powerlink Through Cleveland National Forest
The U.S. Forest Service has approved San Diego Gas and Electric's plan to build a portion of the 120-mile long Sunrise Powerlink transmission line through the Cleveland National Forest.

The U.S. Forest Service has approved San Diego Gas and Electric's plan to build a portion of the 120-mile long Sunrise Powerlink transmission line through the Cleveland National Forest.

The approval means SDG&E has cleared the last regulatory hurdle for the nearly $2 billion Sunrise Powerlink electrical transmission line project.

SDG&E said the new power line will carry renewable energy, such as solar, wind and geothermal power, from the Imperial Valley to the San Diego region.

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SDG&E's President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Niggli said the company will start construction in the fall.

"We're looking to put 400-500 people to work almost immediately on the transmission line," said Niggli.

Niggli said renewable energy projects in Imperial County that have been waiting for the Sunrise Powerlink can move forward.

He said those projects are expected to create several thousand green jobs in a county with one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S.

"This will eventually really open up the door to southwest corridor resources into California," said Arthur O'Donnell, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions in San Francisco.

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"That will be a good thing for San Diego because the area has a hard time accessing renewable resources due to its location," he said.

David Hogan with the Protect Our Communities Foundation said the forest service approval will be challenged.

"The Protect Our Communities Foundation and possibly other groups will certainly be filing a lawsuit over this decision," said Hogan. “It’s just sad to see the forest service really throw away its responsibility to protect people from wildfire and to protect the natural environment of the Cleveland National Forest.”

SDG&E's Niggli said the company does not expect any legal challenges to succeed.

"Although there may be some challenges, we think the project has been the most reviewed and most thoroughly scrutinized in the history of the state of California for an electrical transmission project," said Niggli.

Niggli said the Sunrise Powerlink is expected to be completed in 2012.

Environment
Ed Joyce
Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.
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