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Sunrise Powerlink crews finished work in four key project areas in eastern San Diego County, beating an extended deadline of December 16 to complete construction in these areas before the start of golden eagle nesting season. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) worked closely with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, Bureau of Land Management, the California Public Utilities Commission and the community to implement flexible construction practices and schedules, and maintain the most stringent requirements developed to protect the golden eagles.
"SDG&E has gone to great lengths to protect and preserve the environment during the construction of the Sunrise Powerlink," said Ruben Barrales, CASP Co-Chair and President & CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. "Sunrise has agreed to extremely rigorous requirements for the golden eagle nesting areas and everyone involved cooperated to allow work to continue in a sensitive manner for a short period of time to remain on schedule and to maximize safety."
Due to these efforts, the Sunrise Powerlink remains on track to begin delivering clean, renewable energy in the second half of 2012. To read an article by the San Diego Union-Tribune about construction crews finishing their work just in time, please click on the image to the right.
One Year Later – Project More than
60 Percent Complete
In just over one year since the project broke ground, Sunrise Powerlink crews have made astounding progress laying cable, pulling wires and building overhead structures. Today, the project stands at 63 percent complete and is on schedule to provide clean, reliable power from Imperial County to San Diego in the second half of 2012.
In Alpine, 84 percent of construction on the 6.2-mile underground portion of the project is done, including installation of all the vaults and underground cable underneath Alpine Boulevard. Recent work has focused on connecting cable in the vaults and the areas where the Sunrise Powerlink transitions from overhead to underground.
The overhead portion of the project is also moving along at full steam and is 53 percent complete. In fact, a total of 186 overhead structures have been erected, 286 tower foundations have been set and more than 32 miles of 500 kV overheard wire has been strung.
In the Imperial Valley, crews have completed all 99 overhead structures in this area, marking a significant milestone for the project.
"Construction of the Sunrise Powerlink has helped boost our economy in Imperial County," said Supervisor Gary Wyatt. "We are now looking forward to seeing many renewable energy projects come online in the near future that will use the new transmission line to deliver their clean power."
Sunrise Powerlink Wire Span Breaks Record
Reaching new heights, Sunrise Powerlink crews recently broke their own record for the longest span of wire between two towers. The record was set a few weeks ago when project helicopters carried wire for more than one mile to connect two towers situated on opposite peaks above a valley south of Barrett Lake in eastern San Diego County. Previously, the longest span between towers on the Sunrise Powerlink was 2,800 feet.
This unique construction endeavor required helicopters to fly most of the workers and materials, including the towers, insulators and conductors, to the remote location. To watch a video of this huge accomplishment, click to the left.
DID YOU KNOW?
The amount of soil moved during construction of the Sunrise Powerlink is enough to fill the Empire State Building.
More than 6.6 million feet of wire will be strung on Sunrise Powerlink overhead structures – that's enough wire to cover the distance between San Diego and San Antonio.
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