IMPERIAL, Calif. -- IID Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Citizen’s [sic] Energy reached an agreement Thursday, March 16, 2006, regarding the interconnection of the Green Path and Sunrise Projects.
“I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made. This agreement is mutually beneficial to all parties involved. Most importantly, it will protect the IID Energy control area status while allowing San Diego access to the vast renewable resources of the Imperial Valley,” said Interim IID Energy Manager John Federowicz.
The agreement, subject to board approval, will ensure the ongoing cooperation between the utilities as they work together to design and construct a transmission system that will export much needed renewable resources from the Imperial Valley into the San Diego region.
“SDG&E is pleased to have reached an agreement with IID Energy to merge the Green Path and the Sunrise Powerlink to make them a single, joint project to meet the needs of the customers of both utilities and deliver clean renewable resources to our region,” said James P. Avery, senior vice president-electric, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
With the goal to meet California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring private utilities to deliver 20 percent of their energy in renewable form, the agreement brings the parties closer to the building of a 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line originating in the Imperial Valley substation to a future substation located in San Diego.
“Citizens Energy is very excited about the opportunity to deliver thousands of megawatts of green energy throughout Southern California while providing significant congestion relief for the California ISO. This landmark agreement could not be possible without the cooperation of the IID Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric, and the California ISO,” stated Joseph P. Kennedy II, Chairman and President of Citizens Energy Corporation.
The IID Board of Directors is expected to vote on the agreement during their regularly scheduled April meeting.