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

A resolution opposing Valley North is on the Loudoun County BOS Business Meeting for Tuesday, September 15, 2026, there is a public comment session from 6:00 pm to 7:30pm 

(Instructions to sign-up to speak in public or in person and/or send comments are below)

On the surface the Loudoun County Resolution Opposing Valley North looks good.  However, several things must be pointed out:

1) Page 2, under Requested Action the first statement: "Oppose the building of a 765 kV line on any route given that would be a massive industrial presence in a greenfield right of way through homes and communities, agricultural land, and sensitive environmental areas." [Emphasis Added]

In transmission siting parlance "greenfield" applies to an area where there are no existing transmission lines, "brownfield" is used to describe properties with existing transmission lines and properties adjacent to transmission ROWs. This does not oppose or protect properties along the Mt. Storm-Doubs 500kV transmission ROW. It is directed at opposing all alternatives except the properties already hosting the Mt. Storm-Doubs ROWS.  There are homes along that alternative route that would have two 500kV lines on one side and a 765kV line on the other.

Note the difference as compared to the PATH resolution:  "The Loudoun County Board Of Supervisors hereby opposed the construction of PATH anywhere inside the boundaries of Loudoun County ..." [Emphasis Added]

There is also the County's comments to Potomac Edison on the Gore - Doubs - Goose Creek transmission line, the Electrical Infrastructure CPAM designating one specific area a "transmission corridor" and Sup. Kershner's comments to Loudoun Now  "... he noted the board adopted a policy calling for new projects to follow existing easements" ..." as we did before, we can find other alternative routes that don't impact so many people in western Loudoun".  For clarity, Sup. Kershner has identified the region around the Mt. Storm - Doubs ROW as north western Loudoun.

=> In your comments to the BOS, please request that they remove the term "greenfield" from the first Requested Action statement and that they oppose the building of any overhead 765kV transmission line anywhere within the boundaries of Loudoun County.

2) Page 2, under Requested Action: "Direct staff to initiate processes to protect County Conservation Easements." and Pages 5 and 6 under "Now Wherefore Therefore Be It Resolved" "4. States: its present intention, on the Study Segments published to date and subject to the record before it at the time of any request, that the Board does not expect to find that the conversion or diversion of land held in open-space easement by the Board for an overhead 765-kilovolt line outside existing corridors would be essential to the orderly development and growth of Loudoun County, or that substitute land of at least equal fair market value and greater value as open-space land would be available; ..." [Emphasis Added]

This statement leaves open the possibility that the Loudoun County BOS will find land to convert/divert in place of existing open space easements that it holds. It also says "outside the existing corridor". The Mt. Storm - Doubs line runs through multiple permanent open space easements. 

During the Golden-Mars Case at the VA SCC, Loudoun County did a "conservation easement conversion / diversion" and abandoned the Broad Run Stream Permanent Open Space Easement for new easements along the roadside of Loudoun County Parkway. 

In their comments to Potomac Edison on Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek the County stated:  "The County recommends that Potomac Edison coordinate with County staff and non-profit land trusts to ensure that any conflicts between the Project and the terms of the applicable easements are identified and addressed in the coming months prior to hearings with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). Early coordination will help ensure that the conservation values protected by these easements are considered as part of project planning, and that any issues are resolved in a manner consistent with the applicable easement terms and in a timely manner." ... "The County recommends that Potomac Edison work with affected property owners, owner associations, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Sweet Run State Park and the Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services to identify and develop a passive trail system within the ROW ..." [Emphasis Added]

=> In your comments to the Loudoun BOS, please request the removal of the highlighted phrase and the addition of  a statement that the Loudoun BOS will not abandon or convert/divert existing Permanent Open Space Easements held by the County and will protect them all.

You could also remind them easements are private property. Neither the County nor the transmission developer has the authority to create a passive trail system within the ROW.  No one wants trails below 500kV or 765kV transmission lines.

3) Under Fiscal Impact : "There is no fiscal impact associated with this item at thistime."

In both the Aspen-Golden and Mars-Golden cases, Loudoun County hired an Expert Witness for undergrounding the 500kV based on the Chino Hills case in California. In both cases the VA SCC found the proposed alternative was insufficient from an engineering perspective. 

A firm with the capability to propose an undeground HVDC alternative acceptable to the VA SCC is not going to be "cheap". Clarke County has already committed $800K to defending its residents from Valley Link North. Over the last 3 years Loudoun County has had a budget surplus of $500M and the line is necessitated by its policies and approvals of an inordinate amount of data centers. Loudoun County should be making a monetary commitment of at least double what Clarke County has committed.

=> In your comments to the Loudoun BOS,  please request the addition of a minimum expenditure of at least $1M for the VA SCC Case so that a firm specializing in HVDC Underground (such as Black & Veatch) can be hired to provide an alternative underground solution acceptable to the VA SCC as a substitute for Valley Link North through Virginia.

How To Sign up to make a public comment: 

Call the County Administrator at 703-777-0200, between 8:30 am on Friday, 9/11, until 12:00 pm on Tuesday, 9/15, you can and ask to make a public comment (in person or remotely) on Adgenda Item 14m Valley North Resolution at Tuesday's Business meeting.  All you need to provide is your name, email and address or district. 

The meeting starts at 4pm, Public Comments start by @ 6pm and run till 7:30pm. If you signup to speak remotely you will receive an email Tuesday with a dial in number with instructions. You should dial in by 5:45pm and listen for your name to be called,  then you can speak.
 

You can also send an email to the Loudoun BOS, Use "Item 14m Resolution Opposing Valley North in the subject line" and send to: bos@loudoun.gov;Phyllis.Randall@loudoun.gov;Juli.Briskman@loudoun.gov;Mike.Turner@loudoun.gov;Sylvia.Glass@loudoun.gov;Caleb.Kershner@loudoun.gov;Matt.Letourneau@loudoun.gov;laura.tekrony@loudoun.gov;Kristen.Umstattd@loudoun.gov;Koran.Saines@loudoun.gov

Write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. (Links t ments to Valley Link North "addressing" your concerns. Personally, I'm not buying any of it!!

I  know the urge to roll your eyes and throw it in the trashcan is hard to ignore BUT resist the temptation!! The Valley Link North map is still accepting comments and you can send emails to vlnorth@vltransmission.com

Please reply to their reply, or send an additional email or enter comments on their map the more people that call out their propaganda the better! Ask a second round of more detailed questions.

Here are some references to educate Valley Link:

• On Undergrounding a 765kV line: No one undergrounds a 765kV line, the appropriate technology is underground HVDC. Suggest they talk to their partner Dominion about the Commonwealth Energy Express their 200 mile all underground HVDC project proposed to be buried in Dominion's existing row. Or they can ask FirstEnergy about  the Black & Veatch underground HVDC alternative for the PATH 765kV line in 2009 . Or point them to https://stopmarlvirginia.com/underground-hvdc for the latest projects, white papers, DOE initiatives and videos

• On EMFs: Are their executives living anywhere near an overhead 785kV line? See the Environmental Health Sciences website and others linked on https://stopmarlvirginia.com/electromagnitic-fields

• On Property Damage, Destruction of Property, Blight: Will they be testing wells before they start drilling and blasting? Will they be compensating people for everything they are restricted from using their property for as a result of the easement? See https://stopmarlvirginia.com/transmission-row-info for row impacts and restrictions

Stay engaged! Call out Valley Link Propaganda! 

Other actions to take:

• Print some flyers and talk to your neighbors
• Share posts on social media
• Write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. (Links to Loudoun County and Frederick County news papers) 
• Sign Petitions In Opposition to the Lines

Stand up for your property rights! Silence changes nothing!

Both of these lines are 765kV on new 200' easements for the entire length. These are the biggest overhead HVAC structure and lines available.  This  represents a massive industrialization of rural and residential areas and a taking of private property that is entirely unacceptable.  Tell Dominion, bury these lines, underground HVDC just like the proposed Heritage - Mosby 185 mile all underground HVDC "backbone"

There will be two separate applications at the Virginia SCC.  Information on the VA SCC can be found on the Virginia Landowners Resources page.  See Underground HVDC, EMFs, Transmission ROW Info

 Valley Link North (Amos - Welton Springs - Rocky Point)

 This proposal is a 261-mile, 765kV transmission line on a new 200' easement for its entire length. Impacting  Frederick, Clarke and north western Loudoun Counties. 

Valley Link South (Joshua Falls - Yeat)

This proposal is a 115-mile, 765kV transmission line on a new 200' easement for its entire length (the biggest overhead HVAC structure and line available) from Joshua Falls in Campbell County, Virginia through to a new 765kV substation in Culpepper County, Virginia.  An expansion of the Joshua Falls substation in is also proposed.  New 200' easements will be taken for the entire length of the line. If built, approximately 2,788 acres of property will be taken for this line.

This line impacts:

• 8 counties in Virginia - Campbell, Appomattox, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa Culpepper and Orange

Valley Link South and SMRs In The News:  

• The Farmville Herald: Input sought 
• CBSNews:  Proposed Transmission Line Could Cross Multiple Area Counties
• Cardinal News: SMR planned for Campbell County 
• CRE Daily: Goochland Development Proposal Ignites Community Backlash

There will be two separate applications at the Virginia SCC.  Information on the VA SCC can be found on the Virginia Landowners Resources page.  See Underground HVDC, EMFs, Transmission ROW Info

The goal is no overhead HVAC lines on anyone's property!  Sign nothing without consulting a lawyer, 

115 miles of  transmission line and 0 easement agreements signed before the VA SCC Application is approved will send a strong message.

There will be two separate applications at the Virginia SCC.  Information on the VA SCC can be found on the Virginia Landowners Resources page.  See Underground HVDC, EMFs, Transmission ROW Info

We are encouraging our southern Virginia neighbors to form local opposition groups to inform their communities, oppose Valley Link South and either intervene in the Valley Link South case at the VA SCC either Pro-Se or with a lawyer.

Southern Valley Link opposition groups and contacts posted under Allies.

Dominion's  proposal for a 185 mile entirely underground HVDC transmission line to bring energy from the south of Virginia to the data centers in Northern Virginia has made the short list.  

Read the  11/04/2025 PJM TEAC Reliability Item with Dominion's 185 mile all Underground HVDC proposal  for  bring energy from Southern Virginia to Data Center Alley 

Underground HVDC is obviously technically feasible.  Once again, PJM  referred to this as the "biggest bang for our buck" they explicitly cited that they would be able to use the existing easements and followed up with  all the technical reasons HVDC is the superior choice.  This is the PJM favorite,  even though the HVDC underground solution is 1.6x  times as expensive as the overhead 765kV proposals - $4.8B vs $2.6B. 

We happen to agree its the superior technology,  this is exactly that folks here have been saying, citing multiple recent papers on underground HVDC, readily available and linked on our own Underground HVDC page.   We have been pushing underground HVDC  for MARL/Gore-Doubs-GooseCreek and Valley Link for almost three years now - for all of the exact same technical reasons plus minimizing the impact to national parks, state parks, conservation easements and  6,000+ acres  of private property at risk to be taken.   

Read more About Underground HVDC 

Watch TenneT Energy laying HVDC underground cables  in the Netherlands  in 2015  - stay to the end and  see the  land above the buried HVDC being farmed!

Portfolio 275 1A, the underground HVDC project, proposed by our state energy monopoly Dominion, from an energy generation facility in Virginia to Dominion's customers in Loudoun County's data center alley will be paid for by the standard rate formula - 50% to the Dominion Zone and 50% spread across the rest of the rate payers in PJM.   This is the status quo.  Other states pay for Loudoun County's economic plan and the energy crisis Loudoun's unconstrained data center development has created.   No state other than Virginia will benefit from this line - but they will pay for it. 

Read StopPATHwv - West Virginian's to pay double to Bury The Line in Virginia

During the meeting, PJM also announced that the 765kV  Valley Link will have a voltage collapse by 2032 - the line they are aware the line they approved last year fails before it is even built.  Obviously the overhead HVAC solutions they have put in place thus far are deficient. Will they re-evaluate MARL/Gore Doubs-Goose Creek and Valley Link for a single underground HVDC solution?   Nah, they will keep pushing First Energy's 50 year old I765 corporate expansion plan.  PJM only selects from the pool of projects proposed - no one proposed an underground HVDC during either of those windows so we get multiple massive overhead lines. PJM "picked the best of the proposals that were submitted"  and they are standing by that decision, because they are always right .  Until one of the states denies the line(s) then they will be proven wrong and PJM will have to solicit bids for a new solution in a new window.