As I posted over on DesertBlog, the comment deadline on the Sunrise Powerlink Draft Environmental Impact Report is April 11th. As SDG&E rolls out its “False Choice” advertising campaign for the Powerlink — more on that tomorrow — it’s vital that the Public Utilities Commission hear that there are better alternatives to this destructive transmission line, ones that will provide San Diego with clean, renewable and reliable energy, while reducing greenhouse gases by 50%.

If you’re brand new to the Sunrise Powerlink issue, it’s a proposed 150-mile transmission line between Imperial County and San Diego. Like the San Onofre Toll Road, it would cross a State Park, in this case Anza-Borrego. It would also tie San Diego in to a fossil-fuel future, despite all the “green energy” hype San Diego Gas & Electric puts out. In fact, the EIR found that the powerline would actually cause a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions, even were it to carry 100% solar power (which it won’t). For more details on the truth about the Sunrise Powerlink, go to the San Diego Smart Energy Solutions Campaign website or check out the EIR.

While SDG&E wants to present us with a false choice between the Sunrise Powerlink and polluting power plants on the coast, there really is a better alternative that will rely less on fossil fuels and more on distributed generation, locally produced solar, combined heat and power technology, energy efficiency, and distribution system improvements. Together, all of these will provide San Diego with reliable, secure, clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, all with less cost to ratepayers. This is the plan outlined in “San Diego Smart Energy 2020,” and you can read more about it here.

BTW, for Californians outside the SDG&E service area, you’ll also be paying for the Sunrise Powerlink with fees you pay through your own energy utility. Strange, but true!

Feel ready to submit a comment? Doing so is easy. Just send an e-mail to the Aspen Environmental Group (the company writing the EIR): [email protected]. Make sure to include your name, address and telephone number. The CPUC also maintains a webpage with more details on the DEIR and how to comment. Do it by April 11th!

In addition to your own reasons for opposing the Sunrise Powerlink, make sure to insist that the Final EIR fully analyze “San Diego Smart Energy 2020” as a viable alternative to the Powerlink.

For more detailed comment letter points, see the Desert Protective Council’s Sunrise Powerlink page.