JAN 21

The above program takes an important look at a battle that we're likely to see a lot more of in the near future. There's no use in building large-scale solar and wind projects if there's no way to get the power to major cities. So companies have to build huge transmission lines to get the power from the deserts to the cities.

But not everyone is excited about the prospect of their public lands being intruded upon by these giant contraptions. And while hitting the renewable energy angle has helped power companies sell these projects to the public, there's also no guarantee that the lines will carry renewable power.

In the example PBS found, SDG&E in fact was asked to guarantee that the majority of the power the line would carry would be renewable, and they absolutely would not. In the end SDG&E looked like a bunch of capitalist scumbags who got their power line anyway, and will probably be using it to import dirty power from Mexico.

It's a cautionary tale. While Obama is planning on spending billions of dollars upgrading the power grid, we're going to have to make certain that it's carrying clean power, and not simply making it easier to move coal power from one place to another. And if you've got a free 30 minutes, the above is certainly worth watching.

Comments (3)

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Regulations on Lines
written by Carl, January 21, 2009

I read a more detailed report on this power line (but haven't seen this documentary yet). SDPG&E and other individual utilities are by law not allowed to control which power flows over the lines. They could, however, make commitments to not expand imports of coal power. Adding restrictions on the grid transmission lines would need to be done by the state legislature. An appropriate CO2 tax (or price regulated CO2 trade with the public) could work better than trying to manipulate restrictions
on grid connects.

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Look for the Coal Money
written by Mike1984, January 21, 2009

When ever these projects are blocked, look for the oil or coal money. Don't be a sucker.

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You're confusing your utilities
written by themikeb, January 22, 2009

I think you've conglomerated SDG&E and PG&E. SDG&E and its parent, Sempra Energy, are the ones building the Sunrise Powerlink.

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