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Alternatives To MARL/Gore-doubs-goosecreek Transmission Line
Underground High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)
Underground High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)
HVDC lines can be buried underground in a right of way that is only 5ft wide by 5ft deep and can be used for both long and short distances. In 2022 NextGen Highways did a feasibility study for Minnesota Department of Transportation for Buried High Voltage Direct Current Transmission. The study indicated the price has come down significantly and the installation space is smaller now. The study concluded buried HVDC is cost competitive.
There are about seven recent HVDC transmission projects on the United States many of which are either entirely underground or contain significant segments that are buried.
PATH High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Study
Underground High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)
In 2009 During the PATH Case PJM Commissioned Black & Veatch to do a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC ) Study to look at an underground alternative to the overhead 765kV HVAC transmission line.
There were two concepts. Concept 2 was to use HVDC Underground along the Mt Storm - Doubs line through Jefferson County, West VA and Loudoun County , VA and into Frederick , MD from Welton Springs to Kemptown, Maryland.
The same location PJM has proposed to locate MARL (500kV) and Valley Link (765kV) through Jefferson County, West VA and the Lovettsville / Neersville Area in Loudoun County
It would have cost 2x the overhead 765kV option back in 2009, since these transmission lines are needed for the data centers , the data centers should be required to pay the difference between the HVAC overhead option and the HVDC Underground Option. Underground HVDC is much cheaper than underground HVAC . Underground HVAC cannot be used for long distances , HVDC can. Also HVDC does not have the Electro-Magnetic Field (EMF) health issues that HVAC does.
There is no reason for pushing multiple massive 765kV and 500kV lines across thousands of acres of private property. Whenr the technology exists to put the lines underground.
PJM needs to be required to do an HVDC study for its multi-state transmission lines Valley Link and the MARL/Gore-Doubs-GooseCreek transmission lines in particular!
Alternate Routes Along Highways
Alternate Routes Along Highways
One of the reasons for the selected primary route for the MARL transmission line is to use an existing Appalachian Trail crossing. There are three highways (Route 7, Route 9 and Route 50) that also cross the Appalachian Trail to the south / south west of the existing Mt. Storm - Doubs transmission line crossing. "Data Center Alley" - the destination for all this power is on Route 7. Additionally, both Route 7 and Route 9 run directly to / towards "Data Center Alley". Using highway easements of any one of these would avoid taking private property to host the MARL transmission line. NextGen Highways advocates for using existing highway ROWs to co-locate infrastructure such as transmission lines ,they can be contracted with to study the feasibility of routing transmission lines along highways. In 2022 NextGen Highways did a feasibility study for Minnesota Department of Transportation for Buried High Voltage Direct Current Transmission. The study concluded buried HVDC is cost competitive.
Mid-Atlantic Resiliancy Link (MARL) => Alternate Route MARL the History
A bit of history on the MARL/Gore-Doubs-GooseCreek Project. The MARL project approved by PJM in December of 2023, included a greenfield route entirely contained within Loudoun County, Virginia . The project route, at that time, did not cross the Potomac River and run through Frederick and Montgomery counties and back across the Potomac River into Data Center Alley.
StopMARLVirginia proposed alternate routes down highways from West VA that connect to Route 7, and down Route 7 which leads directly to the center of "Data Center Alley", or alternately underground HVDC, as had been investigated for the PATH project. But we did not have a seat at the negotiating table as we are in the vicinity of the "alternative route" preferred by Loudoun County's BOS.
To make a long story short, PJM accommodated Loudoun County's elected officials preferences for local routing and re-configured the project, at an additional cost of $167.28M to PJM Regional ratepayers (a 24% increase in the cost of the project). PJM also shifted the in-service date for the project four and a half years from June 30, 2027 to December 31, 2031 . Apparently, the brownouts and blackouts used to justify the project need date of 2027 have also magically "shifted" four and a half years.
The articles below provide the sequence of events:
1) December 13, 2023: Loudoun Now PJM Advances Proposal For Transmission Line In Western Loudoun
2) April 17, 2024:
- Loudoun Times Mirror: Loudoun County Supervisors ask NextERA to use Existing Transmission Line Corridor
- Loudoun Now: NextEra Power Line Route Opposed by Supervisors
3) July 5, 2024: Loudoun Now: LTLA Releases MARL Impact Study NextEra to Consider Alternate Route
4)July 9, 2024: Loudoun Now:PJM Considers Alternate Route for Western Loudoun Power Line
- "Del. Geary Higgins (R-30) who has been working with residents, community groups, NextEra, PJM and Gov. Glenn Youngkin to have the line moved said, while it is still early in the process to change the route, he was hopeful. “We have been advocating that this is the only reasonable and acceptable alternative since day one,” he told Loudoun Now. He said the community input was a crucial part of the conversation. “The people had their voice heard,” he said."
- "Sen. Russet Perry (D-31) agreed adding that she was "cautiously optimistic." "While the proposed route change is a clear testament to both the power of citizen participation and the willingness of Next Era to engage with local stakeholders, I am still very aware that the new route has its own opposition and concerns, and I plan to be involved in the additional discussions and meetings surrounding the new route," she said. "
5) August 9, 2024 :Loudoun Now: PJM Board Approves Alternate Powerline Route
6) August 12, 2024 : Loudoun Times: PJM Recommends New Transmission Route Using Existing Corridors
7) Loudoun Living: Loudoun County Board Challenges Proposed Transmission Line Route To Protect Local Heritage "As the approval process unfolds, Loudoun County will serve as a referral agency for the proposals within its jurisdiction, with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) overseeing the final approval." Loudoun County has no jurisdiction over any of this!