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Appellate Court Upholds Sunrise Powerlink Approval
Latest Ruling Keeps Project on Track to Deliver Clean Energy to S.D.
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The California Court of Appeal has issued a key decision upholding the December 2008 approval of the Sunrise Powerlink by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). So far, San Diego Gas & Electric has won every regulatory appeal and legal challenge to the project.
The court Tuesday denied a petition from the Utility Consumers’ Action Network (UCAN) for a review and reversal of the CPUC's decision.
"Every time the Sunrise Powerlink’s approval has been challenged, the challengers have been turned away. Once again, our legal system has shown that the approval of the project was the right decision," said Ruben Barrales, Co-Chair of the Community Alliance for the Sunrise Powerlink (CASP) and President & CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. "The Court of Appeal’s ruling brings us another step closer to realizing our clean energy future."
In addition to the CPUC, the federal Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service have also granted approvals for the line, which is intended to deliver reliable, renewable energy from the Imperial Valley to San Diego.
UCAN had claimed that the CPUC erred in approving the Sunrise Powerlink on several grounds. The Court of Appeal, in a 26-page decision, concluded that there was "no ground for remand and no basis for claiming insufficient evidence to support the (CPUC’s) findings."
"We are eager to put the legal challenges behind us so that this project can move forward," Barrales said. "The Sunrise Powerlink will create hundreds of jobs at a time when our economy is struggling to recover from the recession. Further, it will supply clean energy our businesses need to remain competitive."
SDG&E expects to begin construction of the 120-mile electric transmission line this fall, and have it in service in 2012.
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