Should a high-voltage power line run through California's largest state park? Critics are furious

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BORREGO SPRINGS, Calif. — A planned high-voltage power line in the San Diego County desert has sparked outrage over its proposed path through the heart of California’s largest state park.At nearly 650,000 acres, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is known for its sprawling solitude: miles of lunar rock faces and sandy washes frame spindly Ocotillo stands, wildflower superblooms and designated dark skies.But the proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink from San Diego Gas & Electric could soon change that, opponents say.

The 500-kilovolt transmission line would run some 140 miles from an important substation in southeastern Imperial County, near the Mexican border, to a new one on the border of Orange and San Diego counties near the Pacific Ocean — carving a steel-towered path through Anza-Borrego to get there.The estimated $2.3-billion powerlink is among the largest and most expensive projects in California’s transmission plan, and would connect one of the state’s major coastal population centers to one of its richest renewable energy zones.The Imperial Valley is a key interconnection point for regional solar, geothermal and battery storage projects.

Both the San Diego utility and the state’s grid manager, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), say the project is essential for meeting ambitious carbon reduction goals and alleviating constraint on power lines in Southern California during high demand.“This would provide a critical pathway to unlock the additional generation that we know will be necessary, that will be part of the demand that’s forecasted to increase in the future,” said Erica Martin, the project’s director of development with SDG&E.

Construction would begin toward in 2029 to go online in 2032.The conflict reflects a broader challenge in California: how to move increasingly clean power across the Golden State while simultaneously p...