(July 14, 2010) The United States Forestry Service (USFS) yesterday approved the California Chamber of Commerce-supported Sunrise Powerlink transmission line, an important addition to the state’s electricity grid. 

For the past three years, CalChamber has been actively advocating for approval of this project through public education efforts and testimony before regulatory bodies including the California State Park and Recreation Commission, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the United States Department of Energy.

The Sunrise Powerlink will be constructed between the Imperial Valley and San Diego. When completed in 2012, the 120-mile line will carry 500-volts of electricity — capable of serving the electricity need of over 650,000 customers. Not only will the line ensure a safe and reliable energy supply for the state’s second largest city, the Sunrise Powerlink will create greater access to clean energy from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal. The 1000 megawatts of renewable energy Sunrise Powerlink will bring to the grid is estimated to eliminate up to 7 million tons of greenhouse gas that would be emitted if this needed energy were generated by fossil fuel.

The Sunrise Powerlink transmission line would carry solar energy from solar collectors in the desert to San Diego.

After a rigorous environmental review that took more than a year, the USFS issued its Record of Decision approving the construction, operation and maintenance of a 19-mile segment of the transmission line through the Cleveland National Forest (CNF). The permitting process and environmental approvals required for the Sunrise Powerlink have been exhaustive and represent the most comprehensive review process ever completed for a power line in California history.

Forecasts show that by later this year, the San Diego region will demand more power than can be generated locally or imported over existing transmission lines. Until recently, San Diego has not seen any new power plants built in San Diego for nearly 50 years, and the last new transmission line like the Sunrise Powerlink was constructed in 1983. Since that time, the demand for energy has doubled — straining existing infrastructure to the limit.

The project will create 400 to 500 direct construction jobs and provide more than $100 million in annual energy savings.