After driving out to Ocotillo to voice my concerns over the proposed Ocotillo express Wind Farm, I came to realize that the  Bureau of Land Management's definition of "public input" was a bit inconsistent with mine. Representatives from the BLM, Imperial County officials and Pattern Energy were all given center stage, but when it came time for Ocotillo residents and others to voice their concerns, the presentation quickly came to an end.  We were told that this was an informational meeting only and comments would only be accepted via email and letters. Personally I ... [More]

We had the unfortunate surprise of finding one of the Sunrise Powerlink staging areas as we were heading out to Anza Borrego for the day. This construction yard was just south of the 8 Freeway in Jacumba near the U.S. Mexican border. If you look close you can see the Southwest Powerlink towers in the background as well as the U.S. border fence.  

There has been an unprecedented assault on our deserts and backcountry in the name of renewable energy. While the Anza Borrego Desert State Park was spared the bulldozer's blade back in 2008, many so called "green" projects have been popping up all over California. Although these remote solar and wind projects may seem environmentally friendly on the surface, there is a dark side that seems to be ignored by the media. In order to be financially viable, large scale solar and wind projects require thousands of acres of public lands to be scraped clean in order to make room for the dishes... [More]

I spent Thursday morning out in McCain Valley protesting SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink ground-breaking ceremony along with the Protect Our Communities Foundation and other concerned San Diegans. This high profile invite-only event had our governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in attendance as well as other Sunrise Powerlink supporters and local politicians. Many people, myself included, would call this event premature since the Sunrise Powerlink is being challenged in the courts, but SDG&E moved forward anyway. SDG&E also unveiled its' new high tech helicopter that apparently will... [More]

Not that I am terribly surprised, but I was hopeful that Forest Supervisor Metz would show some backbone and stand up to SDG&E / Sempra. Unfortunately this was not the case and Supervisor Metz caved to political and corporate pressure and agreed to let SDG&E route the Sunrise Powerlink through the Cleveland National Forest. This is a sad day for San Diego and anyone who likes to get out and enjoy nature with out the tell-tale signs of man. The character of the Cleveland National Forest will be forever changed due to corporate greed, deceitful tactics and the unwillingness of the US ... [More]

In the small desert town of Ocotillo, CA the winds may be changing. Pattern Energy, a San Francisco based energy company is proposing to turn 15,000 acres of public lands bordering the Anza Borrego Desert State Park into a 561 megawatt wind farm with 240 wind turbines. Unfortunately for the small town of Ocotillo and the Imperial Valley, little would be gained as the power would be funneled to San Diego over the infamous Sunrise Powerlink. John Calaway, Pattern Energy director of wind development states that the area would benefit from 400 construction jobs during the two year construction ... [More]

SDG&E has scheduled a series of "Community Council" meetings in communities that will be affected by construction of the Sunrise Powerlink. In their words the purpose is to "keep the community informed so that accurate information is available and inconveniences can be kept to a minimum." If Alpine is any indication of "keeping the community informed" then SDG&E has not been doing its' due diligence. Many Alpine residents who attended Monday nights Community Council meeting still feel like they are being left in the dark about the  undergrounding portion which will run under Alpi... [More]

I spent a couple hours Saturday, helping the ECCAC get the word out to members of the Lakeside community about the Sunrise Powerlink . The East County Community Action Committee has been doing a great job of informing back country communities about the destructive path of this project. What amazed me was the number of people who had no knowledge of the project and its' route through El Monte Valley and other protected, open-spaced habitats of San Diego's backcountry. Many east county residents feel they have been blindsided by SDG&E and are now having this project dumped in their backya... [More]

Although the Sunrise Powerlink has been re-routed to avoid the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, the battle continues for many residents of San Diego's backcountry. One such community, Alpine is being faced with having 6 miles of  12 ' trenches dug along its' main artery to accomodate the 2 parallel 230KV lines. Representatives from SDG&E  state that the "undergrounding"  of the Alpine portion of the Sunrise Powerlink, will take two years to install; one year for the conduits and another year to pull and splice the massive cables. According to Sa... [More]

Even though the legality of the Sunrise Powerlink is still being questioned, SDG&E is wasting no time in sending survey crews out along the proposed route. In some cases,  according to this KUSI video they are using threats and coercion to gain access to private property. Check out this "Turko Files" video from KUSI (You need Flash Player)

Even though the Anza Borrego Desert State park has been spared from the destructive path of the Sunrise Powerlink ; the battle is far from over.  SDG&E's Southern route goes through portions of Cleveland National Forest as well as land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. Formerly untouched areas such as the Carrizo Gorge Wilderness Area will forever be marred by 150 foot steel towers. Wilderness aside, what about the East County residents who live in the rural San Diego backcountry? It is estimated that the Sunrise Powerlink will affect 3000 east S... [More]

If you are local to San Diego don't forget to stop by Hazy Meadows Ranch in Lakeside on Saturday May 30 from 11:00AM to 4:30 PM. The fine folks over at the East County Community Action Coalition are putting on a awesome fund raiser to help with the legal expenses in the fight against the Sunrise Powerlink. There will be fantastic live entertainment during the event along with some great raffle prizes.     The Hazy Meadow Ranch is located at  15466 El Monte Rd in Lakeside. Please see flyer below for more information. Download Flyer (135.72 kb)  

I just caught this article in the San Diego Union Tribune giving Sempra a big pat on the back for expanding its' solar presence in the Nevada desert. While this looks all warm, fuzzy and green on the surface we have to take a step back and look at the shortcomings of this approach. Once again the Desert is being used as a sacrifice zone. We will need more transmission lines to get this power to the population centers. It maintains Sempra's control of energy production and distribution to the consumer.   Environmental issues aside, we as consumers ... [More]

I drove out to Alpine after work to attend the town hall information meeting that SDG&E was holding to answer questions about the controversial Sunrise Powerlink. SDG&E had all the bases covered here. Besides cookies and drinks, residents could get color GIS printouts of where the line would run in reference to their property. You simply had to give the technician your parcel number and voila you get a map printout with an ugly green line bisecting it.  You know green for"Green Energy".Many residents seemed caught off guard with various portions of the approved route esp... [More]

In an effort to win over East County ratepayers , SDG&E opened up a month long series of informational meetings in various East County locations.  Unfortunately for SDG&E  the first meeting in Lakeside was met with fierce opposition. Local residents are concerned with the destruction of views in the pristine  El Monte Valley as well as the El Capitan Open Space Preserve.  Is this really a place for a series of 150' tall metal towers ? No, particularly for a powerline that is not needed, is not guaranteed to carry energy from renewable sources, and damages the env... [More]

The CPUC in its' ultimate wisdom (read with sarcasm) voted 4-1 to allow SDG&E to build the Sunrise Powerlink along the proposed southern route. The 123 mile transmission line dubbed the "Renewable Energy Superhighway" by supporters will not even be required to carry clean renewable energy. In all fairness I should say the one nay vote was Commissioner Grueneich who proposed that SDG&E be required to transmit power from renewable energy sources over the line. SDG&E refused this proposal as did President Peevey whose decision won.  So what does this mean for we as Sa... [More]

I am being a bit lazy here but here is a copy of the Sierra Club's smart energy E-Letter that was sent to me. Rather than me reiterating the hilights of this letter I though I would present it to you whole.  The email urges everyone to pick up a phone and dial Governor Schwarzenegger's office and tell him you oppose the Sunrise Powerlink. The number is 916-445-2841.  You will need to call during business hours and most likely you will talk to one of his assistants. Tell him that you oppose the Sunrise Powerlink in any form.No northern route, no southern route, we want in-basin... [More]

Friday the administrative judge recommended that the CPUC reject any form of the Sunrise Powerlink stating:   Sunrise Powerlink is not needed to meet our energy needs Will not save ratepayers any money and would in fact raise rates Would have unmitigatable environmental effects   Hmm that sounds pretty close to what we have been saying for the past two + years. While this sounds like a total victory for Sunrise Powerlink opponents, CPUC commissioner Dian Grueneich on the other hand argued that the SPL is needed to meet California's mandated goals on reducing greenhouse ... [More]

For tens of thousands of San Diego back country residents turning on a radio, light or TV may not be that easy when the Santa Ana winds begin to blow. This controversial proposal comes on the heels of CalFires/CPSD  investigation which blames SDG&E for 2 of the horrific firestorms of last October. SDG&E wants to amend wording in "Rule 14" so they can turn off the power when necessitated by safety or emergency concerns. (their wording)  I attended the CPUC public comments hearing regarding San Diego's 2007 wildfires. While this hearing was... [More]

The BigHorn Sheep that roam Anza Borrego are being threatened again. [More]

Mary and I volunteered to help out Kathleen Beck's People's Powerlink Booth at the Ranchita Rocks festival.  Ranchita Rocks is a 3 day music festival whose underlying theme is "Green" solutions and raising money to stop the Sunrise Powerlink. People come from all over the country to camp out on Carolyn Morrow's beautiful 180 acre farm in Ranchita, listen to music and enjoy the festivities. We arrived an hour late (thanks Google Maps) and found Kathleen and Jim setting up their People's Powerlink table. In case you aren't aware, Peoples Powerlink has been a long time opponent of the... [More]

Union Tribune Article Here! No surprise since SDG&E's whole Sunrise Powerlink campaign has been based on lies and misrepresentations. This article is in reference to one of the alternate southern routes. Facts that SDG&E does not want you to know. San Diego does not need the Sunrise Powerlink to meet it's energy needs. Sunrise Powerlink's main objective is to get fossil fuel generated power from Mexico to Southern Orange County and Los Angeles. 500 KW towers are harmful to wildlife, ugly and help make lot's of $$$... [More]

Anza Borrego Sunrise Powerlink [More]

You would think that the Monday 1PM schedule would deter many Sunrise PowerLink opponents from making the trek out to Borrego Springs for the final CPUC hearing.  Not true! This is a passionate group of grassroots people who don't want unnecessary 500 KW powerlines strung through protected California State Park land and pristine San Diego back country. This hearing was different in a couple ways. First it was the only time that 4 of the 5 CPUC Commisioners would be present and second it was the last chance for the public to express their concerns, opinions, and views... [More]

This past Saturday morning Mary, Kaiel, Diesel and I joined David Hogan and the Sierra Club on an advocacy hike out in Ramona. The hike was an effort to illustrate that in addition to  scarring a path through Anza Borrego, the Sunrise Powerlink would run through some beautiful areas of the San Diego backcountry. The weather for the hike was a bit on the warm side and hats and sunscreen were necessary. We hiked in the morning sun for close to an hour and in that time we saw an eagle, a flat-tailed horned lizard and a pretty cool looking large brown spider. ... [More]