!! TWO NEW HVAC Transmissions Lines PROPOSED a 500kV AND a 765kV !!

Frederick County BOS Meeting

Wednesday, October 8, 7:00 p.m

Board room of the  Frederick County administration building, 

107 North Kent Street

Winchester, Virginia

I called the Frederick County Board Of Supervisors and spoke with the  clerk.  

As for the agenda for the 10/8  Meeting:

• The vote on the standard accord of the substation  is not in the agenda 
• There are two times for Public Comments the first is on agenda items the second slot is on any topic the end of the meeting . 
• We will be able to speak at the end of the meeting (3 min each) during the second time slot  and we can hand our comments to the Board Of Supervisors personally and impress on them the seriousness of the issue and our concerns.

The planning commission said the application was submitted  9/5  and county has 60 days to act on the application or else it is automatically approved.  The next board of supervisors meeting is  Wednesday, October 22, 2025  the agenda for that meeting will not be posted until  Friday, October 17th .   

We need to show up and speak up tomorrow night, the Board Of Supervisors will have time to consider our concerns and must ensure they have an agenda item for a vote to deny or an extension for further review on October 22, 2025.  

We want the Board of Supervisors  to take a vote that the Woodside substation is not in "substantial accord" and  they need to hear from us why it is not .   The October 22 Board Of Supervisors meeting  is the last meeting before the November 5th deadline we need to impress upon them to build the case for denial now  so it can be denied or extend the deadline at the October 22 board  meeting.

Please continue to send comments to: osh.ludwig@fcva.us; john.jewell@fcva.us;rwells@fcva.us;bdunn@fcva.us;robert.liero@fcva.us;jslaughter@fcva.us;michael.bollhoefer@fcva.us;jtibbs@fcva.us;ann.phillips@fcva.us

For those of you at the planning commission meeting you will recall one comment by a  planning commission  member was - we don't have another planning meeting before the deadline (November 5)  so lets vote to approve now.  We don't want the same situation to play out at the October 22 board of supervisors meeting.

Frederick County BOS Meeting

Wednesday, October 8, 7:00 p.m

Board room of the  Frederick County administration building, 

107 North Kent Street

Winchester, Virginia

The Planning Commission voted  the substation to be in "substantial accord" with the Frederick County Comprehensive Plan,  their discussion did not justify their decision. Now their recommendation goes to the Frederick County Board of Supervisors.  

The Board of Supervisors  has to vote on the Woodside substation "substantial accord" and  their vote will OVERRIDE the planning commission's recommendation!  We need the Frederick County BOS to vote "NO"  and override the Planning Commission's "YES". 

Contact the Frederick County BOS NOW and tell them you oppose the Woodside substation because it is not in accordance with the comprehensive plan: 

Frederick County BOS emails:  

josh.ludwig@fcva.us; john.jewell@fcva.us;rwells@fcva.us;bdunn@fcva.us;robert.liero@fcva.us;jslaughter@fcva.us;michael.bollhoefer@fcva.us;jtibbs@fcva.us;ann.phillips@fcva.us

Make the case for denial for them!

It is not in substantial accord with the comprehensive plan because :

1. The Virginia Code calls for the comprehensive plan to be drafted for the purpose of: “guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, adjusted and harmonious development of the territory which will, in accordance with present and probable future needs and resources, best promote the health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity and general welfare of the inhabitants.” 

A substation 40 feet from homes does not meet this criteria.

2. There is no mitigation for current residential properties. Just because in 2023 an area was shaded "blue" for future industrial use in 2035 does not mean a 30 acre substation is in accord with that plan 2 years later! This will gut the home equity of every property in that neighbourhood now! This is not a gradual transmission to industrial use. 

3. This substation will take up 70 acres but does not produce jobs.  It is an industrial use but it is not an industrial business!  And it is not fitting for the character of its surroundings - which is residential,  offices , contractors, garages are suitable 500kV substations are not!  The only reason NextERA chose this property was because this is the only farmer willing to sell their farm and there are transmission line on the property.

There is no 500kV HVAC Substation in the Frederick County plan  - it is not a "feature shown".

There were three Planning Commissioners that voted the Woodside substation was NOT in substantial accord each one had valid reasons for opposing this. Ask Vaughn, Chad and Mollie  to Advocate for the community and speak  at the Frederick County Board of Supervisors Meeting :

• Vaughn Whitacre:  Email Vaughn
• Mollie Brannon : Email Mollie
• Charles (Chad) DeHaven: Email Chad

Items 12) Planning Commission Business - Public Hearings and 13)  Planning Commission Business - Other Business

At  a minimum the Frederick County Board Of Supervisors can extend the deadline for review and engage the Frederick County Attorney to develop a case supporting denial !

Show up to oppose the Woodside substation!  Speak Up!  Fight !!!!

This is an election year write a letter to the editor,  call into a radio talk show,  contact a local news show !

Comprehensive plans get reviewed every 5 years - this can be reviewed and overturned figure out who is willing to represent the best interests of residents  and who is not and spread the word!  Contact every Frederick County Board Of Supervisor and their opponents make this an election issue!

Please be sure to enter comments and be on the record opposing Loudoun County's Electric Infrastructure CPAM land grab.

Direct Testimony on behalf of Loudoun County in the  Aspen - Golden Docket: Pg 18  Lines 396 - 403 "The County envisions a pilot program that, in  addition to undergrounding all or part of  the pilot project under application, would initiate a long-term planning initiative that would include comprehensive plan reform in the participating locality, to identify future transmission corridors and  specific criteria for selecting underground projects, which would be      favored in all cases. This will create a basis for  Planning Staff and the Planning Commission to review applications for  substantial accord with the comprehensive plan and applicable zoning,  which can stand in place of Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity review in the SCC."

It bears repeating,  given what Loudoun's Planning Commissions have done to Ashburn with the completely unrestrained approval of re-zoning requests for data centers, it's mind-boggling to think people are proposing these same individuals should be allowed to etch-a-sketch transmission lines across private property and approve them and take property by eminent domain to ensure the data centers they approved get the energy they demand. 

Comments on the Loudoun County Electrical Infrastructure Plan Amendments will be accepted through the online form (available here) .

Apparently two members of the Loudoun County Planning commission were involved with the sale of a Fauquier County property that has become part of a plan to build a 2.2 million sq.ft data campus in Fauquier County.

According to the article, those members were Ron Meyer and Mark Miller. Mr. Miller bought the property on behalf of JAG MK which is an LLC that Eric Combs (another Loudoun County Planning Commissioner) has been on the board of since 2020. One of the Fauquier County Supervisors also sold his property and naturally its being re-zoned.

"Miller is more than just a minor investor in the project – according to Culbertson, the project would never have materialized if Miller had not connected him to Ron Meyer, the former Loudoun County supervisor who put the Remington Innovation Center application together and pitched it to SDC Capital Partners.

As the application inches through Fauquier County’s review process, Meyer’s Loudoun County perspective is front and center – which he projects as an asset.“I represented Data Center Alley,” Meyer told the Fauquier Times"

Eric Combs was appointed by Michael R. Turner (D-Ashburn) and Supervisor Caleb A. Kerschner appointed Realtor Mark Miller.

Hmmm  ....

 VA SCC Public Hearings for Comments on the Golden-Mars 500kV Transmission line in Ashburn  

Will be held at 6:30 p.m. September 18 at Rock Ridge High School, 43460 Loudoun Reserve Drive, Ashburn, Virginia 20148, arrive 15 minutes early to register to speak

A second hearing will be held 9/29, same place and time.

My understanding is that Loudoun County will be proposing an underground pilot for a portion of the Golden-Mars line, I have not seen the details of the pilot yet.

I support undergrounding ALL transmission lines. The only reason our properties are in peril of being criss-crossed with 500kV and 765kV transmission lines are data center energy demands. These are trillion dollar businesses that can afford to pay to underground ALL lines feeding and encircling Data Center Alley - with whatever technology is feasible underground HVAC or underground HVDC .  Data Centers must  mitigate the effects of their businesses on residents and private property owners!

No easements should be taken by eminent domain from any private property owner,  to host any of these lines.  I will make an exception for the  data center property owners, because data center are the ones benefiting from the lines. These lines should be located on data center property as much as possible and along highways as far away from private residences as possible.

For both the Haymarket line and the W&O Trail line the local elected representatives took bills to the VA General Assembly defining the pilot program and secured funding for the underground project. The Aspen-Golden and Golden-Mars transmission lines have been in the works for two years now and there has not been a bill passed in the VA General Assembly with a pilot for an underground 500kV line and funding for it. 

I asked several elected officials why they are only writing letters to the VA SCC when they can write a bill and have it passed through the VA General Assembly and get funding which would assure the pilot would be built but none of them were able to provide a satisfactory answer.

I did intervene in the Aspen-Golden 500kV case at the Virginia SCC last year and Loudoun County did propose an underground 500kV HVAC alternative. The reference case for the underground 500kV HVAC pilot is in Chino Hills California and it is the only reference case for an underground 500kV lines in the entire world - only 3.7 miles of it is underground .  Black & Veatch did the engineering for the Chino Hills line.

The pilot Loudoun County proposed for the Aspen-Golden line included a planning component and an approval process using the Comprehensive Plan which would allow Loudoun County to evaluate and approve the siting of the transmission line. This would usurp the power of the VA SCC (The Hearing Examiner required Loudoun County to re-file a "cured" version of the testimony without the "planning component").  The original testimony is still available in the SCC docket. From the pre-filed Direct Testimony of Mr. Giglio on behalf of Loudoun County:

Pg 17 Lines 370 - 373 "Additionally, the pilot program will include a planning component designed to develop protocols to allow the eventual approval of high-voltage underground transmission lines through local planning processes, including substantial accord review and zoning review."

Pg 18 Lines 396 - 403 "The County envisions a pilot program that, in addition to undergrounding all or partof the pilot project under application, would initiate a long-term planning initiative that would include comprehensive plan reform in the participating locality, to identify future transmission corridors and specific criteria for selecting underground projects, which would be favored in all cases. This will create a basis for Planning Staff and the Planning Commission to review applications for substantial accord with the comprehensive plan and applicable zoning, which can stand in place of Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity review in the SCC."

It remains to be seen what Loudoun County is proposing for this pilot. However, I can state with assurance I will adamantly oppose ANY  pilot that contains a "planning component" where Loudoun County Planning Staff and Planning Commission work with electric utilities to site and evaluate and approve the transmission line in standard accord with the comprehensive plan. 

The VA State SCC is the only entity with the constitutional authority to evaluate and site transmission lines and issue a certificate that results in the taking of private property for transmission easements. 

Given what Loudoun's Planning Commissions have done to Ashburn with the completely unrestrained approval of re-zoning requests for data centers, it's mind-boggling to think people are proposing these same individuals should be allowed to etch-a-sketch transmission lines across private property and approve them and take property by eminent domain to ensure the data centers they approved get the energy they demand. 

Petitions to update the Black & Veatch Study and have one HVDC underground solution for both lines coming soon!

 First Energy filed a Notice of Intent to file an application for the Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek transmission line through Jefferson County, WV at the West Virginia PSC 8/26 ! 

Next ERA filed a Notice of Intent to file an application for the MARL transmission line through Preston County, Monongalia County, Mineral County and Hampshire County at the West Virginia PSC 8/27!

Both First Energy and NextERA have said the filing was so that a case # could be opened and they intend to file the Application in early December

Gore-Doubs-GooseCreek West VA PSC Docket Number: NOIE Potomac Edison 25C

MARL West VA PSC Docket Number: NOIE NextERA Energy 25A  

You don't have to live in West Virginia to submit comments, you can file comments with the PSC for specific dockets. 

Submit your comments for West VA PSC NOIE NextERA Energy 25A : here

Submit your comments for West VA PSC NOIE Potomac Edison 25C: here

Submit your comments for both cases NOIE Potomac Edison 25C and NOIE NextERA Energy 25A (submit 2x one for each docket number!)

Submit your comments for both cases NOIE Potomac Edison 25C and NOIE NextERA Energy 25A  (submit 2x one for each docket number!) 

Make sure to state you are in opposition to MARL and Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek it's the same line!

Per StopPATHWv: "If you are in Jefferson County you may want to start with... has there been sufficient notice and public engagement? Do you feel you have enough details about this project? Did they show you what a 185 ft. tower would look like? Did they give you full details about their construction practices and what to expect?" 

West Virginia Code Sec. 24-2-11a(c) says at least 30 business days before the deadline to intervene, the applicant must serve notice by certified mail to all owners of property within the preferred corridor. 

You don't need to have a lawyer to intervene at the West VA PSC - in fact once the application has been filed you can intervene pro - se at the start and join with other impacted property owners to have a lawyer represent you all later in the case ! You must intervene to protect your property rights!

The 500kV MARL /Gore-Doubs-GooseCreek transmission line has an InService Date of 2032, the 765kV Valley Link transmission line has an InService Date of 2029!!

First Energy is already working on siting the 765kV transmission line!  I've heard they expect to have open houses in the Fall.   We don't know which transmission line they will be submitting an application to the Virginia SCC for first or the order they will be submitting the applications to the other states!.

Please watch this video of the installation of the Wyoming - Jackson Ferry 765kV  transmission line and send it to every elected official in Virginia that you know.  This is a direct result of the data center policy of  the Loudoun County BOS. 

Please watch this video of the installation of the Wyoming - Jackson Ferry 765kV  transmission line.

These are the same structures as has been proposed for Valley link and is planned to go through Neersville and the Lovettsville area. 

This is the only 765kV transmission line built between West Virginia and Virginia and it is the 90 mile Wyoming - Jackson Ferry 765kV transmission line.

The permitting process for that transmission line began in 1991, the final approval and Environmental Impact Statement from the Forest Service was in 2002 and the line was not energised until June of 2006.

Fifteen (15) years for a transmission line that is 1/3 the length of the proposed Valley Link Transmission Line .

Tell FirstEnergy to  evaluate the 500kV and the 765kV line and do ONE underground HVDC solution

No one in Western Loudoun should be forced to host an overhead HVAC Infrastructure corridor to plug  data centers in Data Center Alley into West Virginia base load generation sources.

Please include in your comments we do not want any more overhead HVAC lines - especially not multiple lines.  FirstEnergy has TWO massive infrastructure projects through our area a 500kV and a  765kV.  FirstEnergy MUST re-evaluate BOTH of these projects and provide ONE underground HVDC  solution.   The link below provides fact sheets  that can be printed. 

Is HVDC underground feasible for the MARL/ Gore-Doubs Goose Creek 500kV and valley link transmission 765kV lines?  The short answer is yes! For the PATH 765kV transmission line Black & Veatch did a study that proved HVDC underground was a feasible solution through our  area.  Although it was more expensive (at that time) . An added benefit is that HVDC lines do not emit EMFs.

• The full title of that study was : Black & Veatch, "PJM Interconnection Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) Project, HVDC Conceptual Study, B&V Project No.164996, B&V File 42.2004 , FINAL November 17, 2009 This was entered into the record as part of the Virginia SCC Case PUE 2009-00043 Application of PATH Allegheny Virginia Transmission Corporation

• Concept 2 was to use HVDC Underground along the Jefferson County WV through Loudoun County segment of the Mt Storm - Doubs line

• This is the same location PJM has proposed to locate MARL (500kV) and Valley Link (765kV) through Jefferson County, West VA and Loudoun County , VA and into Frederick , MD from Welton Springs to Doubs

• The HVDC with underground Concept 2 (~25 miles underground ) would have cost 2x the overhead HVAC 765kV option ($1, 767M vs $3,595M)  The additional $1,828M amounts to an extra $73.12M per mile

• Recent studies by NextGen Highways indicate the price has come down significantly and the installation space is smaller now. 

• The Aspen/Golden Underground alternative proposed by Loudoun County to put 3 miles underground would be an additional $480M over the cost of the overhead line. $160M extra per mile!

=> The HVDC underground solution proposed in 2009 costs less per mile that what the county proposed for the Aspen/Golden HVAC underground alternate route

=> Data Center impact fees and taxes can be used fund the additional cost of under grounding Loudoun County must set aside funds for this purpose . At this point many of these companies are worth hundreds of billions to trillions in market caps (Amazon reached a $2 Trillion Stock Value on June 27, 2024 ) . Their executives and boards are paid 100's of billions of dollars .  There is more than enough money to cover the cost of using HVDC and  undergrounding these lines

=> FirstEnergy is now responsible for two massive transmission lines targeted through our communities (Valley Link and Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek). Its time to re-evaluate and look at ONE single solution - figure out how much power can be reasonable imported from West Virginia and build A SINGLE INCLUSIVE HVDC Underground solution to solve it.

=> PJM TEAC Charts on the concept are attached,  the full engineering study (B&V Project No.164996, B&V File 42.2004 , FINAL November 17, 2009) was filed during the Virginia SCC Case PUE 2009-00043 Application of PATH Allegheny Virginia Transmission Corporation

First Energy is  naming the segment of the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL) that they propose to  build from the Potomac River through Frederick County and Montgomery County Maryland the "Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek" 500kV transmission line.  Word has it that the segment  from Frederick County, Virginia, through Jefferson County, West Virginia and Loudoun County, Virginia and on across the Potomac will also be named the "Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek" 500kV transmission line.  

First Energy has not scheduled or held any open houses in either Frederick or Loudoun Counties in Virginia or  in Jefferson County, West Virginia.  There was one and only one First Energy one open house  in Maryland held in Frederick County,  Maryland.  When questioned about when they would be holding open houses in Virginia and West Virginia they would not divulge a date or how many open houses they would be holding.  Property owners in Virginia and West Virginia are being intentionally kept in the dark .

A fact sheet from the Maryland open house stated "While the project is mainly using existing rights-of-way, there are “some limited areas” where the rights-of-way will have to be expanded to accommodate new transmission structures".

 In a stunning display of cognitive dissonance the Loudoun County BOS has proposed to lower the property tax on data centers and data center personal property tax in particular. Lowering the data center tax rate is a "core element" of their financial plan. 

 The Loudoun County BOS' justification for lowering the rate is to "rein in the growth of government".  They are pointing to the reduced rate for real estate taxes (you know the one where they lowered the tax rate and increased the land assessments that resulted in a larger overall tax bill than last year bill) and the pathetic decrease in personal property taxes on cars (that tax rate was reduced $.38 to $3.09 personal per $100 of the car's valuation.) If your car is worth between $5,000 and $10,000 that is a $14 to $28 annual savings in the "amount you lease the car you paid for" from the county. The county had a $280M surplus that could have been refunded to Loudoun County tax payers, but wasn't.

 At the same the same time Loudoun County has appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court to push for under- grounding @3 miles of the Aspen-Golden 500kV line which would cost rate payers in the Dominion Zone an additional $480 million. Meanwhile western Loudoun is facing the loss of 365 acres of private property to host an additional 500kV plus a 765kV transmission line. 

How about we charge the data centers more in taxes and impact fees to cover the destruction and loss of quality of life the infrastructure is causing?  The data centers must PAY to underground the transmission lines (either HVAC or HVDC whichever is appropriate) being proposed to support their energy demands.

See Loudoun Now: Vol 10, No.36 July 17, 2025article "Rebalance: County Eyes Lower Data Center Taxes"

See Also Loudoun Now: July 10, 2025 "County Staff to Push for Lower Data Center Taxes to Balance Revenues" 

And NetChoice: "Jaw-Dropping Numbers: Loudoun's Data Center Tax Revenue Could Top Real Estate Taxes In Just a Few Years"

In other data center news apparently PJM called upon Loudoun Counties data centers to run on their own backup generators to provide relief for the grid. Did you know there are 4000 backup generators in Loudoun County supporting the data centers?

See Loudoun Now: Vol 10, No.36 July 17, 2025article "Generator Use Jumps In Heat Wave; Turner pushes for Tier 4 Upgrades"