Forging Links. Sunrise Powerlink will be San Diego’s third major connection to the grid.

San Diego Gas & Electric last month submitted its initial filing with the California Public Utilities Commission for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Sunrise Powerlink, a line of approximately 100 miles with a cost estimated between $1 billion and $1.4 billion. The line is planned to run from SDG&E’s Imperial Valley Substation in Imperial County to its Penasquitos Substation in the northern San Diego suburbs. Click here to view map

Stirling Energy Systems, Phoenix, is planning a 300-MW concentrating-solar-collector station in the Imperial Valley to generate the power for the new line. SDG&E has options on two future phases that could add up to 600 MW more capacity to the station. Stirling did not divulge the plant’s cost.

Sunrise Powerlink will consist of 75 to 110 miles of 500-kV line from Imperial Valley to an intermediate substation to be built, says Jonathan Woldemariam, SDG&E technical project manager. From there it will become a two-circuit, 230-kV line for 25 to 40 miles to Cycamore Canyon Substation, and then a single 230-kV circuit will run 10 to 15 miles to Penasquitos.

SDG&E has retained Sargent & Lundy LLC, Chicago, as owner’s engineer and prime engineering contractor, says Ken Simpson, Sargent & Lundy project director. S&L subcontractor Arcadis Greystone, Denver, is “doing environmental analysis on routes and helping with public outreach,” says Woldemariam. The utility plans to apply for its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity in mid-2006 with the completed environmental documents, he says.

The utility plans to identify a preferred route and a secondary route by February and begin to focus the outreach on winning public acceptance, says Stephanie Donovan, SDG&E spokeswoman.

(Photo above courtesy of San Diego Gas and Electric)