BEYOND THE WIRES: Sunrise Powerlink & Sycamore-Peñasquitos Transmission Projects

The document analyzes a partnership between San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) and the nonprofit Citizens Energy to integrate community benefits into transmission infrastructure. Through the 'Citizens Model,' Citizens Energy acts as a participating transmission owner, reinvesting a portion of its profits into local programs. In the Sunrise Powerlink project, this funded the Imperial Valley Solar project, the largest low-income community solar project in the U.S. For the Sycamore-Peñasquitos line, funds were used to provide electric vehicles and charging stations to local nonprofits. While the model helped derisk projects and secure regulatory approval, the authors note a 'top-down' approach to determining benefits that lacked direct community consultation.

• The 'Citizens Model' involves a nonprofit (Citizens Energy) partnering with a utility (SDG&E) to become a participating transmission owner, allowing the nonprofit to reinvest profits from the infrastructure into community programs.
• The Sunrise Powerlink project's community benefits focused on Imperial County, resulting in the Solar Homes residential rooftop program and the Imperial Valley Solar project. The latter is a 39-megawatt facility completed in 2019 that powers 12,000 homes and is described as the largest low-income community solar project in the United States.
• For the Sycamore-Peñasquitos project, Citizens Energy focused benefits on the electrification of transportation for low-income residents in San Diego County. As of January 31, 2025, $2.5 million was provided for electric vehicles and charging stations for local nonprofits, including Meals on Wheels San Diego County and Outdoor Outreach.
• The implementation of community benefits often lagged significantly behind project completion because the nonprofit partner had to first recoup its initial investment. For the Sunrise Powerlink, over a decade passed between initial development and the funding of the Imperial Valley Solar project.
• The authors characterize the benefits framework as 'top-down,' noting that decisions on the types of services and recipients were made by the developers and elected officials rather than through direct consultation with the impacted residents.
• The Citizens Model did not intend to lower electricity rates for ratepayers; instead, community services provided by Citizens Energy continue to be subsidized by SDG&E ratepayers.

APA

Pavia, N., Manitius, N., & Kurland, A. (2025). BEYOND THE WIRES: Sunrise Powerlink & Sycamore-Peñasquitos Transmission Projects. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/07155252/final-EDF-CATF_SunriseSycamore-Report.pdf

Chicago

Pavia, Nicole, Natalie Manitius, and Adam Kurland. BEYOND THE WIRES: Sunrise Powerlink & Sycamore-Peñasquitos Transmission Projects. Clean Air Task Force, 2025. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/07155252/final-EDF-CATF_SunriseSycamore-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pavia |first1=Nicole |last2=Manitius |first2=Natalie |last3=Kurland |first3=Adam |title=BEYOND THE WIRES: Sunrise Powerlink & Sycamore-Peñasquitos Transmission Projects |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=November 2025 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/07155252/final-EDF-CATF_SunriseSycamore-Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pavia2025beyond, author = {Pavia, Nicole and Manitius, Natalie and Kurland, Adam}, title = {{BEYOND THE WIRES: Sunrise Powerlink \& Sycamore-Peñasquitos Transmission Projects}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/07155252/final-EDF-CATF_SunriseSycamore-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }