SAN DIEGO -- Supporters and opponents of a 150-mile-long electricity transmission line faced off on Monday inside and outside the County Administration Building

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Sunrise Powerlink would carry electricity generated from a variety of sources through the southwest from El Centro to San Diego.

Outside consultants say that new, conventional power plants would be more environmentally friendly -- an idea that upsets Powerlink's backers.

"You know, everyone says, 'Not in my back yard,' " Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Lisa Cohen said. "It's been in our bay front with a monstrous power plant, and we want to open up the coastal area. It's the most beautiful area for the whole region to use, and open, for Chula Vista, and take down the power plant."

Chula Vista residents can't wait to see the South Bay power plant dismantled, possibly making way for a stadium for the Chargers, and clearing the air and views for guests of a large hotel project to the north. Those prospects could become realities if the $1.3 billion Sunrise Powerlink project goes forward.

"I know it looks self-serving, but it serves everyone," Cohen said. "This is bringing renewable energy, which serves everyone."

A few more power plants could be a better way to go, however, according to a consulting report.

"I just don't see the idea of five power plants in San Diego County as being the answer," said Barbara Warden of the Community Alliance for Sunrise Powerlink. "I think this is the answer."

On Monday, Powerlink opponents confronted its backers at a rally on the Embarcadero and at a hearing before a California Public Utilities Commission commissioner and administrative law judge. Critics said they don’t agree with the argument that Powerlink is about promoting solar, wind and geothermal energy.

"Sunrise Powerlink is about more fossil fuels," Micah Mitrosky, a Sierra Club Conservation organizer, said. "It unravels regional efforts to reduce greenhouse global warming gases -- which the governor has laid out. Sunrise Powerlink is not about renewability, not about reliability. It's about profits for Sempra Energy."

The economic differences among Powerlink, new power plants and other alternatives will be the subject of hearings beginning in April. The CPUC is expected to hand down a ruling by August.