San Diego Gas & Electric has spent over $600 million building its 117-mile Sunrise Powerlink transmission project—despite legal challenges that could bring it to a halt. “The Sunrise project continues to move forward,” said SDG&E spokesperson Art Larson. “It doesn’t surprise me that they’re moving forward; they have their permits in place,” Ileene Anderson, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, said of SDG&E’s continuing construction. “It’s their gamble—and it is a gamble.” SDG&E spent about $613 million as of the end of 2010 on the projected $1.8 billion Powerlink. Spending was revealed in the most recent quarterly report on the project SDG&E filed with the California Public Utilities Commission Jan. 18. The Center for Biological Diversity is one of a handful of organizations still fighting construction of the planned power line. It is appealing to California’s Supreme Court to deny the CPUC’s approval of the project. Another legal challenge was filed Jan. 14 by the Protect Our Communities Foundation, an organization dedicated to protecting Southern California’s natural resources. It filed suit in federal court against the Department of Agriculture because one of its agencies, the U.S. Forest Service, approved Sunrise Powerlink’s route through the Cleveland National Forest. The consumer advocate group, Utility Consumers’ Action Network, also filed a brief with the California Supreme Court challenging the CPUC’s project approval. Despite the litigation, SDG&E is moving ahead with construction. The most significant development of the past quarter, according to the utility’s latest status report, was beginning construction on the Sunrise transmission line itself, as well as a substation on Dec. 17. Additionally, SDG&E began construction on the transmission underground portion on Nov. 30. Permits to begin construction on the overhead sections are expected in the first quarter of this year, according to the report. Also, right-of-way and other land acquisition of private property continue. SDG&E says that about 90 percent of such property has been lined up. The few remaining properties are expected to be bought by the end of the first quarter 2011, the report states. The Center for Biological Diversity is challenging the project on the grounds that it would uproot many indigenous animal species. Anderson also said that the 117-mile transmission line might not be as renewable-friendly as the utility purports and that the “green” aspect of it might be a façade. “We want renewable energy and we have to get off the fossil fuels,” she said. “It’s kind of a sham to call it a ‘green’ project.” The utility, however, says that when finished, the 500-kV line will have the capacity to carry up to 1,000 MW of clean power, enough energy for 650,000 homes.