get tough wrote on Feb 27, 2008 12:48 AM:It is time to get tough with these obstructionists. Make a list of everyone who opposes the transmission line, and make them the first to loose power during any future power shortages. Seriously these transmission lines are required for the utility companies to meet the MANDATE for renewable energy by only a few years from now. A number of windfarms must be built, and a number of solar powered steam generated plants need to be built. These have the advantage that a gas fired boiler can be included in the heat loop to make up for missing solar heat on days when the sky is overcast so as constant power oputput can be scheduled ahead of time. These need to be built out where there is a lot of sun and heat, and land is cheap. They take up a lot of otherwise wasted land. Also there is a need for redundancy of capacity if we are tohave reliable power.

Wizard wrote on Feb 27, 2008 4:17 AM:Someone needs to pull the curtain on SDG&E. Small minds create small solutions. How many of these so-called 'powerlinks' are in the pipeline? As with the demand for more freeways, some won't be satisfied until paradise is just one vast expanse of asphalt and wires. Welcome to paradise lost.

Ken wrote on Feb 27, 2008 4:54 AM:And when the lights go out you will blame who?

LKF wrote on Feb 27, 2008 7:02 AM:I simply can not understand the mindset of those who oppose energy. Especially the elected officals (democrats). They demonize success, yet take full advantage of the inventions that exists solely because of petroleum and electricity. What will our lives be like when we can no longer drill for oil, build power plants and refineries? My guess is $4+ gasoline and $10 per gallon milk. Meanwhile, our global enemies and their supporters (democrats) are content to sit back and watch us self destruct. Get rid of the enviro-pagans who have infested our Government and lets get back to building America.

Carter: wrote on Feb 27, 2008 7:50 AM: You can forget Global Warming as a reason to not install the link. The public is learning quickly that global warming is a wrongful, covert, ploy by the UN to entice the USA to pay for the cleaning up of the trashed environments of all UN member countries. There is a pressing need for electrical energy in our county in the interim while renewable energy can be developed. The link is only one distasteful source of electrical energy that will have to be utilized in the near future. This is only the beginning. Such decisions will have to be made concerning water and sewage very, very soon, so we might as well hunker down and get busy. The longer we wait the problem solving will be harder and more costly.

Olaf wrote on Feb 27, 2008 9:48 AM:Carter you are right on the mark... the NIMBY's of the back country who use up the rest of society's sources by building in far away places are stopping power from being delivered to millions in the urban setting. I guess that is what has become of the US, a few can always hold up what is needed for the majority of the area. I believe the power company has bent over backwards with different proposals for these folks and they still aren't happy. That mindset of me first is very dangerous for a society that needs power.

Mark wrote on Feb 27, 2008 11:55 AM:For all of you that are so afraid of losing your lights - have you ever considered SOLAR???? For a few bucks more than you are paying for a lifetime of electricty from the "big boys" you can stop worrying.........

Judith wrote on Feb 27, 2008 2:59 PM:It boggles my mind how easily the public is manipulated into giving into the special interests of the privately owned Utility that is SDG&E. Have any of you even bothered to find out all the facts regarding alternatives to the Sunrise Powerlink that would NOT include having to De-designate San Diegos back country wilderness, and substantially increase the already extreme danger of fire that exists in the back country? Why swallow hook line and sinker what the propaganda machine with its infinite budget at Sempra and SDG&E is feeding you? I can tell by what is written here that you are completely delinquent of the real facts and are just reacting to the fear that SDG&E wants you to feel about this line. Solar and wind is coming, and on lines that already exist and also coming to you on rooftops of existing structures. Energy efficiencies will also be put in place and to bridge the gap in high use times, smaller more energy efficient power plants exactly like the ones used in hospitals, will bridge the gap while we transition to renewables. It was these smaller hospital sized power plants already in use in San Diego that really kept the lights on during this last fire storm as the transmission system that runs through the fire prone back country, and which caused most of these fires had to be turned off anyway. Real self sufficiency and change is on the way and we don't have to pay for outdated technology either. Our city will be more self reliant, and less dependent on fossil fuels if we follow the San Diego Smart Energy 20/20 plan.Common! Get educated and stop being so afraid of doing something the right way.

Bob wrote on Feb 27, 2008 4:02 PM:Wow there are some real misinformed people here. Plain and simple sticking a big extension cord from the Imperial Valley to the urban coastal areas is yesterdays technology. SDG&Es claim that this will be reliable and fault tolerant is ridiculous. The current SouthWest PowerLink and proposed Sunrise PowerLink both home run to the same sub-station in Imperial Valley. Can you say "single point of failure". Had the Sunrise Powerlink existed already it would have been taken out by the 2007 Witch Fire. I have been to the hearings and back country residents don't want this in their backyard and I don't blame them. Time to move forward and get the solar initiatives going.

HiTension wrote on Feb 27, 2008 4:05 PM:Oh the fearmongering from the BABS (Build Anything a Business Says). Have any of these supporters of the powerlink actually looked at the numbers, both in terms of dollars and MWs? It would appear not since none of them argue facts. Do they know how many times SDG&E has had to revise its cost numbers because of blatant mistakes (all amazingly in SDG&E's favor)? Find the answer at the CPUC website or ask UCAN. If we trusted these BABS San Diego's electricity rates would be through the roof - but then San Diegans have in fact historically paid the highest electricity rates in California, higher than LA, SF and Sacto where all those crazy liberals live (check it out on the CEC website). The only darkness we need to fear is blind obediance to the powers that be.

Duncan wrote on Feb 27, 2008 5:00 PM:Edison, Tesla and Westinghouse realized early on that power generation was only part of the story. The monopoly lies in the transmission and distribution, and Sempra knows that it is in a race against local generation...which means customers are no longer dependent upon their transmission grid. Two inde-pendent studies indicate that solar costs will be halved within 48 months. The first year production of Nanosolar
panels are being shipped to Europe.

Duncan wrote on Feb 27, 2008 5:05 PM:Hi tension, of course the supporters have looked at the numbers. Do you think that the pro-powerlink people who wear those green t-shirts are just concerned local citizens?

Olaf wrote on Feb 27, 2008 5:17 PM:The only thing to fear is rolling black outs because you nuts don't want to see power wires in your back yards. Just like the kooks who move near a proposed airport don't want to hear planes. Just like the people who move near a dump and complain about odors. Your facts, as you call them, are weak to say the least. HiTension: states that SD pays the most for power, anybody wonder why? Because no new power stations. More people and no new power stations and then you get rolling black outs. So fight the powers that be. Use fire to scare people (no proof that the wild fires were set by power lines but keep going with it) and keep opposing power lines. What do we urbanites need with lights anyway.

Tom wrote on Feb 27, 2008 5:42 PM:The "clean" energy part of this is a fraud. This is all about using less regulated power so SDG&E can keep a "spinning reserve" and pass the transmission costs to the ratepayer.
Homeland Security and Environmental concerns will make this system problematic.

Alex wrote on Feb 27, 2008 6:48 PM:Yeah - more wires. the big picture in the proposal shows a connection to the "O.C." through Warner Springs, Called the "Talega link". they want to mow down the mountain top behind Mataguay Scout camp at Lake Henshaw to install a 600 acre substation and then we can use San Diego's Backcountry to run an extension cord to the the O.C. and beyond, from SEMPRA'S fossil fuel plant in Mexicali. these plants for renewables do not exist yet. Mexicali does. do you think they will let this line sit idle is this really about keeping OUR lights on ?. I've only been to 8 meetings so far - what do I know ?

Duncan wrote on Feb 27, 2008 7:26 PM:Hey Olaf, read the CDF report about the cause of the fires...complete with eyewitness accounts. We get rolling blackouts when corporations manipulate the distribution grid to maximize profits. This isn't speculation, its in the court record. A good summation of the proof you want will be available in the lawsuits against Sempra.

Brian B. wrote on Feb 29, 2008 3:14 PM:For those who so strongly advocate for the Powerlink, I suggest they think about how they would feel to have a 140' tower in their backyard. Go north on El Camino Real toward Mission Ave in Oceanside and you will get a feel of how it will look and the buzzing noise it makes.-

Corinne wrote on Mar 22, 2008 7:06 PM:Hello,

I am very new to this discussion. Could someone direct me to non-biased site so I could read the "real" proposal? This sounds very important from both sides. I would love to get the facts straight.

Thanks Corinne

corinne wrote on Mar 22, 2008 7:08 PM:Sorry,

I did not indicate why I needed the info. Our community is having a meeting the first of April and I would love to be knowledgable and have some reference before attending.

Thanks Corinne