Alternatives
“We do not need this line to supply our region’s energy needs”
- Supervisor Dianne Jacob
See this video from the Lakeside Community meeting on February 25, 2009
California Commission Judge states that the Sunrise Powerlink is not needed
In November 2008, in a press release by the California Public Utilities Commission, an Administrative Law Judge stated that the Sunrise Powerlink is not needed to meet California’s current renewable requirements, and that, if constructed, it could result in significant costs to ratepayers and extensive environmental damage. Among other things, the Administrative Law Judge’s proposed decision stated that SDG&E’s service area will not experience a reliability need or “shortfall” until 2014, and the shortfall may be met more economically and more reliably with generation-based alternatives.
See the full article here.
You may wonder, if not the Sunrise Powerlink, than what?
There are cheaper, cleaner and more reliable alternatives to the Sunrise Powerlink.
Different members of the coalition have different answers to this question. Many opponents to Sunrise, including UCAN, point to numerous viable options which are cleaner and cheaper alternatives to supplying power.
Others wonder why they can’t just put lines underground instead through our dwindling, fire prone, open spaces. They do it in Europe. Are we stuck in another corporate headlock based on greed, while the rest of the world advances?
And finally, others argue that even if we need transmission lines, and for some reason can not go underground, than we should at least build them along transportation corridors instead of through our fragile dwindling back country and open spaces. What we give up today is gone forever, and generations will have to live with those decisions forevermore, changing the character of a community for short-term, knee-jerking answers that really don’t hold up to careful study. In addition, the means to tabulate the “costs” and “benefits” of the optional route does not recognize the cost of fires, fire protection, lack of insurability, loss of business revenues, loss of natural resources, loss of health, etc (see “what’s at stake” for even more). So no matter where you fall on the answer of HOW… it is clear that there are better answers than the Sunrise Powerlink.
See the Video, “A Question of Power“
Watch the San Diego Smart Energy 2020 plan presentation which discusses that Sunrise Powerlink is just PHASE ONE of Sempra/SDG&E plan here
Watch this video documentary produced by KPBS – Power Struggle
See the UCAN site for a detailed discussion of cheaper smarter options – click here
Bottom line.. there are ample options for clean, smart power without renewable firestorms, among the other many horrific impacts.
March 10, 2009
Invisible, Underground HVDC Power Costs No More Than
Ugly Towers
by Thomas R. Blakeslee, Clearlight Foundation
The U.S. power industry is very slow to change. In 1954 Sweden began using High Voltage DC (HVDC) power transmission instead of the AC system, which was created in 1885 by Nikola Tesla. DC systems used to be much more expensive because expensive electronic voltage converters had to be used in place of simple transformers. However, semiconductor costs are falling while transformer, land and steel costs skyrocket. As a result, underground HVDC power transmission is rapidly becoming cheaper than ugly AC towers. By following existing road and rail rights of way, very quick turnaround times are possible and court battles are avoided.
Credit:ABB Ltd., Zurich, Switzerland
AC power transmission requires 3 cables instead of two and has additional losses due to skin effect and capacity to the ground. DC voltage converters are very efficient with less than 1% loss. They also handle faults much better as they can respond in an instant. They are already used to tie together our regional AC grids.
Most regulated utilities have little incentive to cut costs as they are given a percentage as their profit. Los Angeles is one exception. The LA Department of Water and Power serves the ratepayers, not shareholders. LADWP built one of the few long HVDC links in the U.S. in 1986. It brings 1600 megawatts (MW) of power from Utah to Los Angeles. The link is now being upgraded to 2400 MW and will soon be extended to the wind farms in Wyoming.
Wyoming wind is very valuable in Los Angeles because wind peaks in the evening, hours after electrical demand peaks in the afternoon. The two-hour shift in sun position between Los Angeles and Wyoming causes wind output to almost perfectly match electrical demand. HVDC power links pay for themselves quickly because the spot price of electricity varies by as much as 3:1 through the day and can be mismatched by as much as 33:1 between unconnected areas.
Wind power that has no place to go can actually have a negative value, as it must be disposed of. Solar power in the north requires links to southern deserts, preferably further West as solar output peaks about four hours before demand peaks. North-South links between populated areas also smooth annual demand variation: In the north, demand peaks in Winter while the south needs more in summer for air conditioning.
HVDC links should be built to link rich renewable resources to distant population centers. Solar thermal plants in the Sahara desert and the hydroelectric resources of Scandinavia could power all of Europe. The current system of importing energy through pipelines, trains and tanker ships should be replaced by clean, efficient HVDC power links. An excellent movie on the subject by GINI is called “There is no energy crisis; there is a crisis of ignorance”
HVDC connection losses are only about 3% per 1000 km plus 1.5% for two voltage converters. This is much more efficient than conventional transportation. In fact HVDC can be often be justified because it is cheaper than building a pipeline to bring in gas to run power plants. Electric motor efficiencies are typically above 90% while fossil fuel engines are usually under 30% so it is more economical to ship electricity than fuel. 80% of rail shipping in the U.S. is for transporting fuel.
The United States has been completely left behind in HVDC equipment development. Swedish, German, French and Japanese companies dominate the field and have built an extensive network of links. Many are across the waters surrounding the continent. The U.S. needs to play catch-up. We clearly need new laws that encourage grid development in the U.S. to accommodate our renewable energy.
Superconducting cables are even more promising but still too expensive. American and Japanese companies have already installed working superconducting links. With superconductors there is no loss in the cable but the wire must be kept cold with circulating liquid nitrogen. Newer superconductors under development can work at dry ice temperatures but much development is needed.
As with many of our energy problems, the technical solutions are the easy part but the regulatory environment is the real problem. Subsidy decisions made decades ago distort the market and encourage continuation of the inefficient fossil-based status quo. New laws could make it easier and more profitable to build HVDC links and greatly reduce the cost of renewable energy.
Don’t know, but there was a Midwestern company, a subsidary of William’s Gas if I remember right that converted existing gas pipelines into fiber optic conduits. Creative use of pipes that might otherwise have been ignored. Is such an idea possible here? Do we have pipelines we can use for protected underground electrical line conduits. A friend of mine and I thought the pipes could be flooded with argon or CO2, to eliminate fire liability. CO2 is easy to get, back up the electrical truck when you’re done working on the line and plug in the exhaust to the pipe. Write your job up while you wait for the pipe to reach CO2 saturation limits. To borrow an idea of a favorite English teacher of mine, “Brainstorming puts all ideas out there, no matter how crazy they might seem.” In doing that, you might find an idea or two you’d never have thought of that really works.
Thank you thank you Ken. Brainstorming is excellent. First and formost this line isn’t needed. The information above is really good. I think there was about 250 pages of DC info and comments in the massive EIS responses. I was fascinated. Everytime I bring up DC or any other idea someone says “oh you cant do that” . Well this line isn’t needed and we oppose it everywhere. Even Dave Hogan mentioned in his comments to the south route’s second round of eis updates that if it has to go than underground between the freeway is way better than where they propose it now or any of the other wire routes. Who among us could argue?
WHY can’t SDG&E share with Caltrans? How come 3000 lives are directly in limbo and a million will see it every day, but this wasn’t one of the plans on the table?
If this were really necessary and would cure global warming than the price is worth it. BUT OF COUURSE IT ISN’T NEEDED ANYWHERE! jUST making sure that if we are facinated by the technology we are still in agreement that this is a farce from the beginning. However, along with coming up with ways to cool a DC line,so that energy isn’t lost due to heat,which the current overhead model is horribly inefficient, another way to be more efficient, since those lines can be well over 300 degrees seems if it was underground than the lines could also be surrounded by water. –and you say water boils at 212? yep it does, which makes steam which turns generators, perhaps small local ones along the way. The water can be recaptured and recycled in a closed system. Better than a 300 degree line on the ground by accident?
Somewhere a few people said undergrounded is still distructive, and they are so right. I’m completely on board with that path. Why do this and pay for it for 50 years if it isn’t needed ? But we just demonstrated the ability to generate new ideas. I think the notes above are right about the converters getting cheaper, and I had not thought about the east to west thing. Well one thing is apparent, when they aren’t paying the stockholders they get real about people and science. Does that feed any OTHER ideas???
I want to watch that movie, a crisis of ignorance now.