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TWO!!! Lovettsville and Neersville are now facing the possibility of a massive transmission infrastructure row 550' to 600' wide with an additional TWO HVAC transmission lines to support the Data Centers in Eastern Loudoun's Data Center Alley.
These are also impacting the neighbouring counties of Frederick County, Virginia and Jefferson County , WV and Frederick County, MD
These will require both expanding the existing easements and new greenfield easements, if both transmission lines are approved the row would be almost four times as wide as a football field is wide and will take 365 acres in the Lovettsville and Neersville areas alone!
On top of the destruction of 365 acres of private property in Loudoun and the local environment, plus an unprecedented level of Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) for the people forced to live beside it, these structures would cut 160' to 185' into the skyline and will be the prominent feature of the view shed for the entire area.
If these are approved people in the Lovettsville and Neersville area will be living beside:
This transmission project is a giant extension cord from the 502 junction to bring energy from three existing generation plants (Fort Martin, Mitchell and Harrison) in West Virginia to Loudoun County, Virginia's Data Center Alley.
The northern section of the line has been assigned to NextERA and they are calling their piece of the project the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL)
The southern section of the line has been assigned to First Energy and they are calling their section the Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek Improvement Project
If approved, this transmission line would traverse :
In Frederick County , Virginia and Jefferson County, West Virginia it will require expansion of First Energy's existing 138kV easement in some areas and new easements of 200' in various locations to avoid structures and other impediments. The proposed structure include H frames and on a 185' mono-poles with the existing 138kV underbuilt.
From Jefferson County, West Virginia it enters Loudoun County, Virginia across Short Hill mountain, then traverses Neersville and Lovettsville, running approximately 15 miles to the Potomac River where it crosses into Frederick County, Maryland then heads south through Montgomery County, Maryland and crosses the Potomac again to finally connect into the Golden Substation in Eastern Loudoun County, Virginia.
This transmission line will also cross 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.
The MARL Transmission line is part of a set of transmission projects approved by PJM to import energy to meet the unprecedented power demands of the data center industry in Eastern Loudoun County, Virginia.
This is a second much larger transmission line to serve increased energy demands of data centers in Eastern Loudoun. This proposed 765kV transmission line originates at the John Amos generation plant in West Virginia to bring coal fired energy into Loudoun County's "Data Center Alley".
Valley Link (previously known as Project 262 /#708) ) is a proposal to build a 261-mile, 765kV transmission line (the biggest HVAC structure and line available) from the John Amos power station in Putnam County, WV through :
The transmission companies proposal uses guyed V-lattice towers these can be as tall as 180' -200'. These are possibly the foulest, most land use restrictive, intensive and invasive electric infrastructure available!
This would cross North Western Loudoun County for about 15 miles and will take a new 200 ft. wide easement within the vicinity of the existing Mount Storm - Doubs transmission lines. It would take approximately 365 acres of property in Loudoun County alone - devastating private property owners!
Valley Link would also cross 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 . It will severely impact / destroy the scenic and historic value of these assets.
This is the same area in Frederick County, Virginia, Jefferson County, West Virginia and North Western Loudoun County, along the Potomac River that is the target of the proposed 500kV transmission line (described above) that was approved by PJM’s Board of Managers in August of 2024, which, if built, will also require taking additional easements.
The proposal is nearly identical to the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) project that we defeated in 2012.
NO!!! The Mid-Atlantic National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor was cancelled!
If any state denies the MARL / Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek (500kV) Transmission line or the Valley Link (765kV) transmission Line the Federal Government will not have the authority to site the transmission line and the transmission line will not be built!
The number one alternative is to use underground HVDC within the existing right of way or along highways . 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) (See Alternatives - Underground-HVDC for more information) )
We want FirstEnergy to re-evaluate and build ONE underground HVDC solution for both transmission lines!
Additional Alternatives include:
Possibly all of the above!
Yes , the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from an HVAC transmission line are a concern to anyone living near them.
Per Professor Martin Blank's testimony in the PATH 765Kv transmission case: “There can be no doubt that the proposed addition of the 765kV line to the existing 500kV line 138 kV lines would add to the level of EMF and thereby create additional potential risk. This would be contrary to the recommendations of the May 1999 NIEHS Report to Congress.”
Note that HVDC transmission lines do not produce EMFs.
You can read Professor Blank's testimony and other articles on EMF's here: Electromagnetic Fields
No, PJM has already moved the in-service date for MARL by three years and Dominion Energy has projected some data centers will need to wait up to 7 years to connect to the grid.
The threat of brownouts and blackouts is just a scare tactic. The need is purely economical and driven by new data centers under construction and existing data centers that want to expand. Additionally, more data centers are being approved for development. The data centers estimate their energy use based on their business plans and submit energy requests to Dominion Energy.
Those energy demand requests are used in PJM's forecasting and transmission planning. The data centers may use less or more energy than they have requested (or they may pack up and leave town).
If the transmission line is not built by the requested in-service date, the data centers will not be able to build out their business ventures on the timeline they have planned.
PJM is the Regional Transmission Organisation serving the approximately 65 Million electric customers in 13 states plus the District of Columbia.
PJM's service area includes all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.
PJM's mandate is to oversee the safety, security and reliability of the transmission system within its region.
PJM has no authority to commission the building of electric generation facilities, therefore the only solution to any "problem" identified by PJM will be transmission, even though building generation closer to the energy demand maybe a more economical solution.
FERC is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
FERC does not approve transmission lines. FERC approves cost allocation, incentive rates and recovery rates charged to consumers in the region of the Regional Transmission Organization (RTO).
FERC's Mission is to assist consumers in obtaining reliable, safe, secure, and economically efficient energy services at a reasonable cost through appropriate regulatory and market means, and collaborative efforts.
Read more about FERC at : FERC Overview
The approximately 65 million rate payers in the PJM region will share the "socialised" cost of the Transmission lines, as well as the cost of the rest of the projects that PJM approved to bring base load power into Eastern Loudoun County to provide energy to the data centers.
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