Greenwashing the SDG&E Sunrise PowerLink 
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Today, the Sacramento Bee's California Forum published an opinion by UCAN's Executive Director, Michael Shames, that exposes Sempra and SDG&E's greenwashing of the Sunrise PowerLink - a monstrous $1.9 billion project that will do little to improve the environment and a lot to increase SDG&E's already exhorbitant rates.

The opinion makes six key points:

1) The project is shortsighted and foolish. It offers minimal environmental benefit for the cost, and is a great example of "regulatory capture," where a government agency serves the interests of SDG&E instead of the people.

2) SDG&E will charge $1.9 billion for the project. It will make an astonishing $1.4 billion in guaranteed profits.

3) Like the fabled Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere," spending $2 billion for a powerline is ridiculous since it doesn't produce any power.

4) Since the line doesn't produce cheap power, but only transmits power, justification for the project crumbles.

5) There is no requirement or regulatory guarantee that the line will transmit green energy. None.

6) The Sunrise model is obsolete. It is based on an old Soviet-Union style paradigm of monolithic centralized power distribution.  Distributed generation, which would use local power sources such as solar energy, represents the future for California and the nation.

To see the full opinion, read Transmission-line project is shortsighted and archaic in the Sacrameto Bee California Forum.

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