Sunrise Powerlink a SONGS saving grace

June 20, 2013 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

After a year of service, the 117-mile Sunrise Powerlink transmission line linking San Diego to the renewable-rich Imperial Valley is even more valuable today than it was when it went online one year ago.

Caption: Sunrise Powerlink transmission tower at sunset in the Imperial Valley, which will provide enough energy for more than 650,000 homes. Credit: San Diego Gas & Electric

The $1.9 billion project endured a rigorous 5-year-long environmental review and permitting process and extensive regulatory review -- the most comprehensive study of a proposed transmission power line in California history. The Sunrise Powerlink project is among the largest and most significant in the history of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) in which design, planning, construction and implementation required scores of public hearings, detailed construction schedules to accommodate a wide array of environmental regulations, and coordination of thousands of helicopter flights to ferry crews and material to the construction sites along the route.

"The Sunrise Powerlink is more valuable and helpful to our region and beyond today than when it was originally envisioned," said Jessie J. Knight, Jr., chairman and CEO of SDG&E. "It not only adds another major transmission artery to our local transmission grid, it is bringing a significant amount of imported power to our region during the summer months to compensate for the loss of power from SONGS."

The transmission line played a pivotal reliability role last summer when the suspension of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) meant the loss of 2,200 megawatts (MW). This summer, with SONGS permanently offline, the Sunrise Powerlink will be one of the most important mitigation measures to maintaining electric reliability during peak customer demand.

"Sunrise was originally put in place to bring green energy to market and it is more than exceeding expectations in bringing solar power to load centers in Southern California," said California Independent System Operator President and CEO Steve Berberich. "And now with the loss of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, it is also proving to be critically important in maintaining reliability."

The Sunrise Powerlink allows for an abundance of renewable energy production in the Imperial Valley to be delivered to SDG&E as California pursues its ambitious renewable energy goals. Since 2011, SDG&E has signed 36 renewable contracts that are now in development, totaling nearly 1,750 MW of generation capacity. Of these contracts, 10 are located in Imperial County.

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http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/sunrise-powerlink-songs-saving-grace/2013-06-20