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(Photo by SDG&E) |
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Posted February 9, 2009
On December 18, 2008, the southern route of the Sunrise Powerlink was approved with no conditions by the California Public Utilities Commission, on a 4-1 vote (Commissioner Grueneich dissenting). While this routing does avoid Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, this decision ignored the conclusions of the voluminous EIR on the project, thousands of pages entered into the administrative record by a variety of groups and experts, and the will of the people. The decision paid heed only to the political clout of Sempra Energy and Gov. Schwarzenegger, along with an alliance of business and labor interests. Extensive litigation is assured, with the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and Utility Consumers Action Network filing proceedings with both the California Supreme Court and the Public Utilities Commission.
The article linked here, by Diane Conklin, sums up the post-decision situation nicely. It originally appeared in the Ramona Sentinel.
Donate to the Protect Our Communities Fund for upcoming legal actions. Or donate to DPC and we’ll pass the funds on for you. Just note “Sunrise Powerlink” on your check or online form.
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Posted October 25, 2008
From our friends at People’s Powerlink:
1. If you need more information on the Sunrise Powerlink, watch this one-hour video, produced by Backcountry Against the Dump and Stubborn Mule Productions, and written and narrated by Diane Conklin.
2. Contact Governor Schwarzenegger Immediately. Schwarzenegger supports this huge transmission line and four of the five California Public Utility Commissioners (CPUC) are his appointees. The Governor must feel the heat from folks like you who don’t want this expensive and wrong-headed project. It is important to call him and follow up with an email. Let him know YOU expect better solutions! Here’s an example of what to say:
“Please oppose the unnecessary Sunrise Powerlink, whether it’s the southern or the northern route. A better alternative is renewable, local generation.” (Then if you have time: “The San Diego Smart Energy 2020 plan will cut San Diego’s carbon footprint by 50 percent, far better than anything the Sunrise Powerlink will achieve.”)
Contact the Governor today:
Phone: 916-445-2841 (Warning: the Governor’s staff is only answering the phone sporadically. If you get the “call back later” message, please try contacting one of his staff members below.)
E-mail Form: http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email
Fax: 916-558-3160
Regular Mail: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 95814
Alternative Contact Info:
Energy Undersecretary Darren Bouton: darren.bouton@gov.ca.gov
San Diego Area Staffperson Cameron Durckel: cameron.durckel@gov.ca.gov; 619-525-4641 (you’ll most likely get an answering machine, but go ahead and leave a message)
Please copy us at stopspl@gmail.com so we can track how many people have contacted the Governor.
3. Contact CPUC Commissioners. The CPUC is now expected to make a final decision as early as December 18. Each of the five Commissioners may draft an Alternate Decision presenting differing conclusions or opinions. All five Commissioners will then vote on the Proposed Decision and any Alternate Decisions at a meeting of the full Commission before the end of the year. Let them know you have contacted the Governor and tell them to listen to YOU and why you don't want this project.
The links below will take you to an e-mail form for each commissioner:
President Peevey
Commissioner Bohn
Commissioner Chong
Commissioner Grueneich
Commissioner Simon
Please COPY the CPUC Public Advisor on your email: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov; phone: (866) 849-8390
4. To ensure a better energy future: lobby your state rep to pass a bill to create “feed-in tariffs,” which require utilities to buy back excess solar rooftop and residential scale wind power from consumers; start a community energy group to kick start local solar production; lobby local officials to municipalize SDG&E and/or work with you on local energy initiatives. For information about the fight against utility corruption, go to the People's Powerlink website at www.peoplespowerlink.org; for information about on-site renewable energy systems go to www.sdenergy.org
Posted October 20, 2008
Action Alert
Here’s a quick, easy and vital action you can take to stop the unnecessary, destructive and wasteful Sunrise Powerlink. (You know the action is urgent when we resort to Terminator cliche’s!) Why’s this so important right now? Because the other side is also calling and e-mailing him now that the Final EIR has been released and a decision is expected in the next couple of months.
The best, most important, and easiest thing you can do:
Call the Governor at 916-445-2841 (you can choose to speak to a live representative)
What to say:
“Please oppose the unnecessary Sunrise Powerlink, whether it’s the southern or the northern route. A better alternative is renewable, local generation.” (Then if you have time: “The San Diego Smart Energy 2020 plan will cut San Diego’s carbon footprint by 50 percent, far better than anything the Sunrise Powerlink will achieve.”)
If you absolutely don’t want to talk on the phone, the second best thing you can do is send an e-mail. You can simply e-mail the Governor at http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email and the Public Utilities Commission at public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov. Please copy us on your e-mail at: stopSPL@gmail.com.
And if you want to send a pre-written e-mail message with just a few clicks, click here.
Need to learn more about the Sunrise Powerlink? Surf through the posts in the “Sunrise Powerlink” category at DesertBlog, or check out the San Diego Smart Energy Solutions website.
Posted October 4, 2008
This is a longer version of a commentary by Bill Powers that appeared in Capitol Weekly on October 2. His article was written in response to a Sept. 18, 2008 opinion piece in the same publication, titled “Vast renewable energy sources at California’s doorstep,” which claimed a pressing need for more transmission lines in California. The piece reprinted here offers much more evidence about California’s transmission capacity and renewable energy economics.
Bill Powers, P.E.
Sept. 18, 2008
The author of the September 18, 2008 opinion piece titled “Vast renewable energy
sources at California’s doorstep” editorial is off-the-mark in citing renewable energy
development barriers as the reason that California’s renewable energy production
has declined over the past several years. He is similarly off-the-mark in citing
limited transmission capacity and permitting obstacles as the reasons that
potentially vast Baja California wind and solar resources are not being exported to
the California power market. The problem is more basic than the author suggests.
There is no direct way for California’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to make
money in the development of major renewable energy projects given their lack of
eligibility for federal renewable energy investment tax credits and accelerated
depreciation.1 As a result, the IOUs have erected sufficient barriers to entry for
renewable energy projects, in the form of non-transparent “least-cost best-fit”
selection requirements and unrealistically low renewable energy payments tied to
the wholesale price of fossil power, that even the California Energy Commission
now advocates scraping the current IOU renewable energy procurement system
and substituting it with a simple feed-in tariff structure with fair rates for renewable
energy providers.2
read more here >>
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DPC Conservation Coordinator Terry Weiner testifying at the May 12 Sunrise Powerlink Hearing. Photo by Diana Lindsay |
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June 13, 2008
The May 12 hearings were a great success, with 600 Sunrise Powerlink opponents (more than 100 of whom spoke) making their presence felt to the four Public Utilities Commissioners who were present at the meeting. But we still need to keep the pressure on, now more than ever. The Final EIR will be out soon, with the PUC scheduled to vote in the fall. We know that SDG&E is waging its own campaign to flood Governor Schwarzenegger with pro-Powerlink messages, most based on the company’s dire and far-fetched warnings that the lights will go out without the Powerlink.
You can counter SDG&E’s deceptive “grassroots” campaign by making a simple call to the Governor’s office at 916-445-2841. Ask him to oppose the Sunrise Powerlink and to support better energy options for San Diego. You can also ask him to respect the findings of the Environmental Impact Report and to choose instead the San Diego Smart Energy 2020 plan.
Your calls really will make a difference!
For more on the Sunrise Powerlink, see the new issue of our newsletter, El Paisano.
