Project Brings Enough Energy into San Diego to Serve 650,000 Homes

The Sunrise Powerlink Project is considered the largest and most significant infrastructure project in San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) history. The 117-mile, 500,000-volt electric transmission line links San Diego to the Imperial Valley, one of the most renewable energy-rich regions in California. The completion of the project in 2012 was the result of a rigorous, five-year environmental review and permitting process. This process was followed by 18 months of construction of both overhead and underground transmission infrastructures.

Fiber optics was included in the 6.2-mile, 230 kilovolt (kV) underground cable system design that is part of the 117-mile system. The fiber optics will be used to monitor the thermal performance of the high-voltage cable system real time. The temperature information collected by the fiber optics provides first-hand cable insight. This allows SDG&E to maximize power transfer capacity safely and efficiently.

Project of the Year

As part of engineering service, Black & Veatch designed a forced-water cooling system to be used where the underground transmission cable system reconnects with the overhead line. The system will facilitate heat dissipation from the energized cable. This will eliminate a choke point by using water chillers, circulation pumps and control instrumentation.

The project won the ENR California 2012 Best Civil Work/Infrastructure Project and the International Right-of-Way Association 2012 award for Infrastructure Project of the Year.