Sunrise Powerlink Helicopter Ops

San Diego Gas and Electric’s massive Sunrise Powerlink project is a 117-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission powerline construction project that will link San Diego to renewable energy sources in southeastern California. Helicopters have played a critical role in construction efforts, with the 40 helicopters on contract logging a collective 16,000 flight hours since operations commenced in late 2010. This SDGE video highlights some of the ways in which helicopters have been used on the project. For more about the Sunrise Powerlink project, see the April-May 2012 issue of Vertical, available online at