Call for Action: Sign The Petition, Say NO to Solar in Borrego
Last updated 3/21/2023 at 1:09pm
Join your neighbors in opposing this terrible plan by signing a petition here: https://www.change.org/p/tell-the-san-diego-county-board-of-supervisors-no-that-borrego-springs-will-not-be-sacrif?recruite
A hearing for the plan to reduce carbon, called the Regional Decarbonization Framework to be brought before the San Diego County Board of Supervisors (BOS) has been postponed, no longer happening on April 5 as planned, and has been rescheduled to May 24.
The Regional Decarbonization Framework (RDF) – that targets unincorporated communities to meet aggressive, zero Greenhouse Gas emission goals by 2035, by requiring our rural communities to provide renewable Solar for San Diego’s coastal communities.
Borrego Springs is targeted under this plan for large, industrial scale Solar plants.
This is an example, how investor-owned, for profit, SDG&E, has tried to kill rooftop Solar and promote construction of massive, industrial-scale Solar plants in rural areas that require construction of giant transmission lines. Why? because SDG&E’s investors make big profits from these lines.
The consultant that wrote the Technical Report, upon which the RDF is based, did not disclose he also wrote SDG&E’s “decarbonization plan” and his organization received hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy investors aligned with the utilities to promote him. As a result, Borrego Springs, the heart of the majestic Anza-Borrego Desert State Park has been incorrectly identified as the “low-cost option,” sacrifice zone for generating San Diego’s renewable electricity.
The Technical Report that identifies Borrego Springs as the low-cost option purposely leaves out the true costs of renewable energy generation in Borrego Springs, and the Park; and grossly underestimates the electricity that can be generated on rooftops and parking lots in coastal cities.
The County’s RDF recommends just what SDG&E wants: renewable energy generation far from the cities where the electricity will be used, thus necessitating the construction of highly lucrative, massive, long-distance transmission lines. The cost is $39 billion for SDG&E to transport Solar power from Borrego. Worse yet, these lines will have to run through portions of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, posing fire danger and destroying the Park’s natural habitat and serene environment loved by tourists and visitors.
A lawsuit was filed against San Diego County for lack of transparency and false data benefitting SDG&E, on February 27, 2023 to stop the Board going forward. We must support this effort by letting the BOS hear from Borrego’s residents. Tell the San Diego County Board of Supervisors NO to turning Borrego Springs into an industrial Solar wasteland and delay any action on the Regional Decarbonization Plan until the Technical Report is updated by independent consultants, and, until ALL true and accurate costs are included in the calculations for determining the fastest and least expensive pathway for regional decarbonization.
Take Action Today!
- Sign the petition. Goal – 1,000 signatures. Refer the petition to friends and neighbors, who love Borrego Springs as our home, and want to keep it a place of natural beauty, free of noise and light pollution, with breathable air.
- Send a letter (email or hard copy) to ALL of the County Supervisors saying NO to the current draft of the RDF. BOS Contact info here: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/general/bos.html
- Attend the County Board of Supervisors meeting where the RDF is coming before, and speak up! This was originally scheduled for April 5, but has been postponed to May 24. You can also leave comments here: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/bos/ecomment.html
- Read more about the San Diego Climate Plan: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/sustainability/climateactionplan.html
- See Dr. David Garmon’s article on how Borrego Springs came to be identified as the “low-cost option” in County’s Regional Decarbonization Framework: https://www.borregosun.com/story/2023/02/01/news/borrego-in-the-crosshairs-again/7660.html.
