ECO Substation

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: ECO SUBSTATION

 

September 3, 2014 (Jacumba) – “It’s impossible to gauge the size of this substation from this photo. It’s huge,” Wayne Brammer writes of the still-under-construction ECO substation project that SDG&E is building in rural Jacumba.


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ANCIENT KUMEYAAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND AT ECO-SUBSTATION SITE

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 30, 2014 (Jacumba Hot Springs)—Two agave roasting pits  found recently in Jacumba Hot Springs have been carbon-dated, indicating Kumeyaay Native American occupation in the Jacumba region dates back at least 9,000 years.  Termed “an astounding recent archaeological find” by the Imperial Valley Desert Museum in Ocotillo, the agave roasting pits were unearthed during construction of SDG&E’s ECO substation project in San Diego’s East County.

Howard Cook, chair of Jacumba Hot Springs Sponsor Group (the town's advisory planning board) believes the find should have impacts on future develoment projects pending in the area. 

“This is highly relevant to the proposed Jacumba Solar project located next door and sharing roads with the under construction Eco project,” he told East County Magazine. “Certainly this calls for a cultural monitor and perhaps some preliminary excavating of the proposed site by [an] historical society and Native American historical/cultural experts."


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NEXTERA PLANS SOLAR FARM IN JACUMBA ON FORMER BP SITE; SOITEC SHELVES SOME BOULEVARD PROJECTS...FOR NOW

 

By Miriam Raftery

NextEra hopes to build its solar farm close to SDG&E’s new substation, continuing the industrialization of rural Jacumba Hot Springs.

August 10, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – For planners and residents in East County, keeping track of proposed industrial solar projects has begun to resemble a tiresome game of Whack-a-Mole: one vanishes and another pops up in its place.


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CPUC REQUIRES SDG&E TO REPAIR FENCING AT SUBSTATION

 

April 14, 2014 (Boulevard) – In response to a complaint filed by Donna Tisdale, the California Public Utilities Commission has instructed San Diego Gas & Electric Company to make repairs to a torn, flapping construction fence at the Boulevard substation site along state scenic highway 94.


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BACKCOUNTRY GROUP FILES COMPLAINT WITH CPUC AGAINST SDG&E OVER WATER CONCERNS

 

 

Flawed Water Supply Plan for Electric Substations Results in Request to Revoke Planned Projects

By Sharon Penny; photo by Wayne Brammer

March 16, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--During one of the worst droughts in San Diego County history, a backcountry group has filed a complaint against San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) regarding its flawed water supply plan for construction of its ECO Substation (photo, left), Boulevard Substation, and 14 miles of new 138KV line.

Backcountry Against Dumps (BAD), a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending groundwater-dependent communities from environmentally unsafe facilities and projects, is seeking an order against SDG&E, contending that the company violated a mitigation measure (MM HYD-3) that would directly impact eastern San Diego’s already strained water supplies.  The complaint was filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CUPC) and asks the CPUC to rescind SDG&E’s water supply plan and permit to construction the ECO substation project, among other actions.


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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: SDG&E’S NEW “ECO” SUBSTATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 15, 2014 (Jacumba)—Wayne Brammer sent in these photos of SDG&E’s new Eco Substation in Jacumba. The project is (so-named for hooking up to industrial-scale renewable energy projects. But to most backcountry residents, the project is an ecological disaster that destroyed the landscape and used three times more water (90 million gallons total) than SDG&E estimated.

“This thing is a monster and they’re wasting water all over the place, not just here but all the way to Boulevard,” writes Bramley, referencing other energy projects in the pipeline.  “We really do need to separate from the city and have our own county,” he concluded, linking back to a reader’s editorial on this issue.


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DOG TEAMS SEARCH FOR NATIVE AMERICAN REMAINS IN MCCAIN VALLEY , OCOTILLO AND JACUMBA

 

Canines identify dozens of sites in path of wind and power line projects

 

Wind developers “cooperate” with tribes on searches-- but SDG&E refuses to allow dogs on its ECO-Substation site

 

 

Story by Miriam Raftery

Photos by Tom and Nadin Abbott, Miriam Raftery, and Jim Pelley

July 18, 2012 (McCain Valley) – Weaving across cactus-studded terrain in McCain Valley, Piper, a border collie trained to find ancient human remains, pauses to sniff the ground.  Ears erect, he sits, alerting handler Lynne Engelbert, who records the GPS coordinates. (Click video to view.) Minutes later, Piper’s find is independently confirmed by a second search dog.


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CPUC APROVES SDG&E’S ECO-SUBSTATION IN EAST COUNTY

 

June 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) this week approved San Diego Gas & Electric's (SDG&E) East County (ECO) Substation Project, a development that involves two electric substations along SDG&E's Southwest Powerlink transmission line.


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STANDING ROOM ONLY CROWD AT CPUC HEARING IN JACUMBA ON ECO SUBSTATION

 
By Cynthia Wharton

February 2, 2012 (Jacumba)- - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) held a public participation hearing at the Jacumba Highland Center on January 24.

Presided over by an administrative law judge, the honorable Hallie Yacknin, this hearing provided an opportunity for interested members of the public to express their views on San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) application for a permit to construct the East County Substation Project (ECO Substation).


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CPUC TO HOLD HEARING IN JACUMBA JAN. 24 ON ECO SUBSTATION AND NEW TRANSMISSION LINES PLANNED FOR BOULEVARD

 

January 19, 2012 (Jacumba) – The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and assigned Administrative Law Judge Hallie Yacknin will hold a hearing in Jacumba on January 24. The public may testify with comments on SDG&E's proposed $285 million 60-85 acre ECO Substation and 13 miles of new 138kV transmission lines planned for Boulevard.


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COMMENTS DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR TULE WIND, ECO SUBSTATION & RELATED PROJECT IN EAST COUNTY


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CONGRESSMEN VOICE CONCERNS OVER PROPOSED EAST COUNTY ENERGY PROJECTS


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FEB 15 DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON 3 MAJOR ENERGY PROJECTS IN EAST COUNTY


Tule Wind, ECO Substation and Energia Sierra Juarez energy/transmission proposals


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SDG&E MOVES FORWARD ON NEW SUBSTATION IN EAST COUNTY


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