No Worries for Mega Grid Opponents?
Green Path North Might Be Going South
by Jackie Devereaux
April 6, 2009

San Bernardino/Riverside/San Diego & Imperial Counties, CA - At least two giant public utility companies said environmentalists “need not worry” about plans to build a “mega grid” of transmission power lines through Southern California because they are scaling back, considering other routes and carefully moving forward despite concerns.

The Green Path North route proposed by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), would construct new high-voltage transmission power lines running through 85 miles of sensitive lands in the Hi-Desert and the Coachella Valley. The Sunrise Powerlink proposed by San Diego Gas & Electric calls for 600 towers to be built along 150 miles of land through Imperial and San Diego counties.

Both plans have met with staunch grassroots opposition successful in either stalling, stopping or steering plans into other directions. Two mega giant power companies claim they need to build more transmission lines throughout Southern California to meet growing needs. Critics claim the companies do not want “green power” but instead only want to control and manipulate the price of electric power throughout the state of California.

The power companies claim they are trying to meet the Governor's mandated goal of 20 percent of their energy portfolio coming from Green Power sources, such as solar, wind and renewables by 2010, and with 33 percent green power by 2020. LADWP has been hatching plans for two years to build Green Path North and applied for a “Right of Way” with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in December 2006.

The utility giant is considering other routes to their Green Path North, an 85-mile corridor running is 200 to 300 feet wide beginning at a new North Palm Springs substation traveling north along state route 62 through the Hi-Desert to join another electrical substation near Victorville. LADWP and SDG&E both claim they need the new transmission lines to meet a 20 percent level for renewable energy by the year 2010.

Green Path North - Environmentalists side of the story
Opponents say this is a lie. Jim Harvey, executive director of Alliance for Responsible Energy Policy (AREP), a non-profit organization opposing any new transmission lines, said LADWP's plan to build the Green Path North also involves the taking of private properties through eminent domain.

“There's a huge effort underway to obtain federal wilderness designation for many years now threatened by big solar and big wind industries and their transmission corridors,” Harvey said.

“Those of us opposed to Green Path North now have a genuine opportunity to make a difference,” he noted the LADWP's Green Path North route threatens a portion of the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. Designating this and other areas as federal “wilderness” will make it much more difficult to get approval for these devastating big energy projects, he said.

AREP's website asks sympathizers to “take action” by sending pre-written letters to the San Bernardino county board of supervisors and Congressman Jerry Lewis' office opposing the Green Path North project by LADWP.

“The Green Path North project is not green at all,” Harvey added, “In fact, it's the least likely way to bring green energy to California.” If LADWP really wanted to increase green energy production they could do it in the four following ways.

First, repeal the failed federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 benefiting only big energy companies. Secondly, offer tax credits, rebates and low interest loans to home an business owners for installing photo voltaic (solar panels) and micro wind turbines. Thirdly, pass “feed-in tariff” laws requiring utility companies to purchase surplus renewable energy from home and business owners at market rates. Fourthly, remove the restrictions current California CSI law, limiting sizes of a renewable energy system in the home or business - this discourages renewable energy production surplus.

“Germany has been working towards achieving 2,000 megawatts of electrical capacity every year from rooftop solar panels,” he said. Europe is ahead of the United States in collection of solar power and has less sunny days than California does. By 2011, they will have added 10,000 mega watts of capacity, that's huge.” Green Path North is only expected to bring in 800 mega watts of power, so there is no comparison.

“If LADWP's real agenda was to build a 20 percent renewable energy portfolio by 2010, then they'd be doing it this way,” Harvey said. “And as far as looking into alternate routes for the transmission lines are concerned, they are a smokescreen for their real motives which is to control the supply and price of electricity in Southern California.

In a Feb. 2, 2009 article by Carol A. Overland, a utility regulatory attorney and electrical consultant based in Minnesota, said not to believe big utility company's propaganda about why they need new electrical transmission lines. Overland said, “Planning for peak loads,” is a transmission lie.

“We'll have blackouts” or “freeze in the dark” are transmission lies. Utility company “forecasts” are a lie. “It's for renewable energy” is a lie. “Long distance transmission” is a lie. “Utilities frame of need for public purposes” is a lie.

However, writer Jeff Ball in an April 2, 2009 Wall Street Journal article said the biggest foe confronting the green movement today may be their own conflicting views and roles about coal which currently provides about half the world's electricity.

Harvey is undaunted by sceptics who he claims only want to change the subject to global warming, nuclear power, coal emissions or alternate routes as a smokescreen to avoid the real issue - big energy companies simply want to control and manipulate the supply and price of electricity in California.

LADWP's side of the story
“At this point we have not excluded, nor approved any possible routes,” said Joe Ramalo, LADWP Public Affairs Director . “We have six alternatives on file with the BLM, and we have recently publicly shared a seventh alternative, which basically parallels the I-10 Freeway to the south, avoiding the sensitive areas through the Morongo and Yucca Valleys.

“The project participants share a common goal: to select a route and technology that meets the project objectives with the least impact on the environment and the surrounding communities, Ramalo said.

“The proposed (GPN) transmission line has been scaled down from 500 kV to two 230 kV lines, which allows us to design a configuration including underground portions. Further, the requested right of way (ROW) is only 200 to 330 feet wide,” he said.

The question often comes up – why can’t they share the existing corridor along the I-10 with SCE?

“We continue to meet with Southern California Edison continue and we hope we are able to share Edison right of way. However, there are four main reasons why the Edison right of way poses significant hurdles. They are capacity, timing, distance and firm rights,” Ramolo explained.

“There is high demand for additional capacity for the SCE transmission line – far beyond what SCE has capability for at present time. Plans to expand the lines are far in the future – beyond LADWP’s time frame for completion of Green Path to meet its needs. Furthermore, there is already a queue for using any expanded SCE transmission in that corridor.

“Even if we are allowed to share Edison’s right of way, this right of way only extends so far. We will still need to build a transmission line to connect into our system. Even if there were capacity, SCE has never offered firm rights to use the line when it is needed or for the amount of capacity needed. This is simply not an acceptable position for LADWP and other SCPPA members. We will be depending on this line to bring renewable energy to our customers and we cannot agree to any arrangement jeopardizing the reliability of our energy supply,” Ramalo said.

“Another issue frequently raised relates to cities involved in GPNP creating more renewable energy within their boundaries. LADWP and SCPPA participants are aggressively working to expand energy efficiency programs as part of our long-range plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. LADWP has one of the nation’s largest solar incentive programs for residential and commercial customers. The city is also purposing an ambitious solar power plan to install 1.3 gigawatts of solar by 2020.

“The U.S. Forest Service, BLM, and our agencies are now working on an agreement guiding our respective roles and responsibilities throughout this project. Once this agreement is in place, we will formally begin the environmental review by filing the Notice of Intent/Notice of Preparation, and then reach out to communities through public scoping meetings to formally hear stakeholders’ concerns and gather their input,” Ramolo said.


SUNRISE Powerlink – Environmentalists' side of the story
In San Diego, three local groups filed an appeal to the U.S. Department of Interior for the BLM approval of San Diego Gas & Electric's Sunrise Powerlink transmission project. These efforts have stopped, slowed and turned the tide substantially in favor of environmentalists. The appeal notice is the first step to a lengthy court appeal.

In the San Diego case appellants are: Back Country Against the Dump, Inc., a grassroots organization located in Boulevard, Calif., and The Protect our Communities Foundation (POC) based in Santa Ysabel, East County Community Action Coalitilon (ECCAC) based in Lakeside. All three groups requested a stay of action until the appeal is resolved. This means a stop to the construction of 600 towers with transmission lines along a 150-mile route bulldozing its way through the Cleveland National Forest and sensitive lands in San Diego and Imperial counties.

"We want to stop the proposed 'mega grid' across the southwest," said Terry Weiner, coordinator for the Desert Protective Council (DPC). We are working with the California Desert Coalition and AREP and the coalition is getting bigger and stronger.

"We had a town meeting with 250 to 300 people at the Alpine Community Center discussing ways to stop the Sunrise Powerlink and Green Path North proposals," Weiner said.

"The whole idea is 'we don't think it's up-to-date technology.' Transmission lines are obsolete, inefficient and produce greenhouse gases," Weiner said. "Power companies want to bring yesterday's technology for today's needs? That's looking backwards."

"Power companies want to make a billion dollars selling us their electrical power. If we produce our own renewable power, then we won't have to buy theirs," Weiner said.

"Our group, the CDC, AREP and BAD are focusing on where solar should be – on our roofs. We are more focused on conservation and retrofitting our homes for solar energy," she said.

SDG&E's side of the story
The BLM issued its Record of Decision in January, after the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) approved the Sunrise project in Decemeber. "Opponents are well aware Sunrise Powerlink is one of the most rigorously reviewed infrastructure projects in California history with more than 11,000 pages and three years dedicated to environmental analysis of the power line project,” said Jennifer Ramp, Senior Public Relations Manager for SDG&E.

“The CPUC in its final decision voted in favor of the transmission line being needed to ensure reliability and to provide access to the vast renewable energy resources in the Imperial Valley. SDG&E is committed to the state's goal of reaching 33 percent renewables by 2020 with the Sunrise Powerlink.

“Appeals can only serve to delay the development of renewables in our region which is counter to state policy to increase renewable energy and reduce GHG emissions to 1990 levels,” Ramp said.

“We are moving forward with the pre-construction process, meeting with vendors to finalize engineering of the power line. We expect to start construction mid-2010, with completion in 2012,” Ramp said in a written statement.

Currently, the cities of Palm Desert, Berkeley and San Francisco are offering AB 811 loans for solar panels on roofs. Why isn't Los Angeles and Edison doing this?" Harvey asked.