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

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

The Between the Hills Community Association is hosting a meeting with local Loudoun County elected officials: 

Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 

Time: 7:00PM - 8:30pm

Location: Between the Hills Community Center 

11762 Harpers Ferry Rd

Purcellville, VA 20132

This is a Rescheduled Meeting and Q&A with Supervisor Caleb Kershner and State Delegate Geary Higgins .

Topics for Discussion include:

• Cluster Developments
• New Transmission lines and plan amendments for future lines
• Well water for new developments
• Short - and - long term conservation plans for the valley

Loudoun County Continues Land Grab Planning to Support Data Center Energy Demand  

Loudoun County is continuing to push Comprehensive Plan Amendments to identify Transmission corridors through Loudoun County to host the expansive, massive the HVAC infrastructure (500kV and 765kV) transmission lines to import energy for Data Center Alley.

Virginia is a Dillon Rule state which means a county has no authority except what the state has granted it. Loudoun County has no authority to site transmission lines or designate transmission corridors. Loudoun County also intends to add an overlay with the transmission lines on the county map. This will have serious implications for property values and eventually the "By Right" use of private properties along whatever "corridors " Loudoun Counties BOS "identifies"!

This is "next level" gas-lighting and influence peddling on the part of Loudoun County's BOS.

Every private property owner in Virginia should find this alarming! The JLARC study made the extent of the "energy hole" Loudoun's Data Center Alley's energy demands has dug: "Building enough infrastructure to meet half of unconstrained energy demand would also be difficult (Scenario 2 above). If VCEA requirements were not considered, the biggest challenge would be building new natural gas plants. New gas would need to be added at the rate of about one large 1,500 MW plant every two years for 15 consecutive years." See "2024 Data Centers In Virginia JLARC Report", Pg iv 

Whether its gas or SMRs, solar or wind someone's private property will be between the new generation plants and the new and expanding data center campuses in Data Center Alley.  

Loudoun County's data center build out is unsustainable. The data center industry has crossed the line in our county to the point where it is a drain on natural resources and it has grown to the point where it is destroying the daily quality of life of residents in eastern Loudoun, to the point where an entire subdivision is attempting to re-zone, sell their properties and leave (Hiddenwood Lane, 20 parcels, 28.92 acres near Arcola) , and now private property in western Loudoun is threatened with eminent domain takings of a proportion never before seen in this county - 365 acres to host an additional 500kV and 765kV transmission line - to support electrical infrastructure of a magnitude that does not exist anywhere in the 13 states  of the PJM Region.

Rather than address residents and property owner concerns and constrain the data centers the Loudoun County BOS continues to double down approving re-zoning applications for additional centers (the latest approval is a re-zoning request by JK Land Holdings for 22 acres 556,746 feet of data center space near Leesburg Executive Airport)  Our Catocin Supervisor, Caleb Kershner supports defining transmission corridors across private property  and  supported the re-zoning request, knowing full well more transmission lines will be needed and more private property will be taken. 

Read Loudoun Now article : July 18, 2025 "Loudoun Supervisors Advance Study of Electrical Infrastructure"

Please write the Loudoun County BOS in Opposition to Comprehensive Plan Amendments laying out Transmission Corridors as well as their continued approval of re-zoning applications for data centers: bos@loudoun.gov 

Also Letters to the Editor & Editorials would be helpful to : Submit an opinion or letter to the editor opposing the western Loudoun Transmission line(s) for the data centers and Loudoun County's Comprehensive Plan Amendment Land Grab to one of the Loudoun County Newspapers

• LoudounNow:  Letters to the Editor must be 500 words or fewer. 

                  Submit your letter here: https://www.loudounnow.com/site/forms/online_services/letter_editor/

• Loudoun Times Mirror :  Letters to the Editor must be 500 words or fewer. The deadline for current  edition is noon on Tuesday. No letter writer will be published more than once in a 21-day period, or more than once over the course of three print  editions. 

                  Submit your letter here: https://www.loudountimes.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/      

• Blue Ridge Leader And Loudoun Today : Letters to the Editor must be 500 words or fewer.  Letters for publication must include your name, address and phone  number.

                  Submit your letter here: https://blueridgeleader.com/contact/

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" 

The PJM Board Of Managers has approved the 765kV transmission line  in spite of the obvious and unacceptable impacts to private property owners and significant impacts to national and state parks.

If approved by West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland it will cross 216 miles on guyed-wire V-frame structures on a new 200' wide easement for its entire length. It  will take at least 6,352 acres of land from rural property owners across 14 West Virginia counties, 3 Virginia counties and 1 Maryland county. It will impact 32 conservation easements plus the Monongahela National Forest, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park,Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail and it will run parallel down the view shed of the Potomac River. 

For communities in Jefferson County, West Virginia and western Loudoun County, Virginia, Project 262 Proposal #708 would be a THIRD HVAC transmission line through their communities and across their farms and property: the existing 500kV, a new 500kV that has not been constructed with a 138kV under built plus a 765kV, 140' to 180' tall, guyed V-lattice structure beside it!   In Loudoun, 365 acres would be taken from private property owners. 

This is not a reliability problem this is new load / lack of generation problem driven by Loudoun County's unconstrained build out and expansion of data centers.    

Virginia can build in-state energy generation for the data centers, the data centers can build their own energy generation on-site .  Better yet the data centers can build closer to generation plants that have capacity .  

There are 200 data centers built and 117 in the development pipeline.  According to Supervisor Turner  "There has not been a single day in 14 years when a data center was not under construction in Loudoun County We have more data centers than the next six U.S. markets combined. "  

This is not an "accident",  this is a direct result of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors continuing to approve new data centers and data center expansion. Exemptions are approved in spite of existing zoning regulations and thus far they have also refused to fix  the zoning that allows data centers "by right" under the guise of "office buildings" .  Our Supervisors are not as interested in the "by right" usage of property by private property owners, who are their own constituents.  

The Loudoun County BOS  can fix the data center energy demand by  NOT granting exemptions to zoning rules for the data centers, adding a rule constraining the energy use of land zoned for office building to the average energy use of office space .  Loudoun County needs a through house cleaning every one of our board of supervisors needs to be replaced. 

To really understand the extent of data center energy demand issue in Loudoun,  I would recommend you read "Loudoun County Virginia Data Center Capital of the World "A strategy for a changing Paradigm" written by Supervisor Turner 

The  Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report on Data Centers was completed in 2024. It found that data centers’ power usage in Virginia is roughly equivalent to the electricity needs of 2 million Virginia households and is expected to double within 10 years. Within a 15 year timeframe the amount of energy that would need to be imported would increase by over 50%  .  This is not a sustainable situation.

New Proposal Transsource #708: Amos - Welton Springs - Rocky Point 765kV 

This is another transmission extension cord for more Eastern Loudoun County data centers - a 765kV transmission line (the biggest structure and line available) to plug into the John Amos Power plant in West Virginia.  The proposal is nearly identical to the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) project that we defeated in 2012. 

It is proposed to cross 14 counties in West Virginia (Putnam, Kanawha,  Roane, Calhoun, Braxton, Lewis, Upshur, Barbour, Tucker, Preston, Grant,  Hardy, Hampshire and Jefferson) 3 counties in Virginia  (Clarke, Frederick and Loudoun) and end in Frederick County, Maryland  at a new substation south of the existing Doubs substation.  

This time the joint proposal by  FirstEnergy, American Electric Power and Dominion Energy is based on "cheaper" Guyed V-lattice tower construction. Guyed V-lattice towers are possibly the foulest, most land use restrictive, intensive and invasive electric infrastructure available!   This would cross Loudoun County for about 15 miles and will take a new 200 ft. wide easement parallel to the existing Mount Storm - Doubs transmission lines, taking approximately 365 acres of property in Loudoun County alone!  

This is the same area in far Western Loudoun County that is the target of the new 500kV transmission line that was approved by PJM’s Board of Managers in August of 2024 (Alternate MARL Re-Route) which is expected to take additional easements as well!  This will be a third transmission tower even bigger than the other two  - a 500kV plus a 500kV with a 138kV underbuild plus a 765kV beside it !