Maryland Land Owner Resources

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 preferred by the county.

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 5, 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!

8)   August 30, 2024: Energy Connects: Data Centers Face Seven Year Wait for Dominion Power Hookups Its just a coincidence that the wait time for an energy hookup for a new data center shifted from 1 - 3 years to as long as 7  years immediately following the project's in-service date shift  by 4 and 1/2 years. 

The Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project  intends to upgrade an existing 230kV transmission line to a 500kV transmission line within the existing easement (which has multiple 230kV transmission lines already) .  This  line was proposed to mitigate the deficit of energy caused by the retirement of the Brandon Shores Generation Plant in Baltimore, MD.

Maryland PSC Case Number : 9748

Date Filed:  7/11/2024

This case is in progress,  case documents can be accessed here    

For more information about this line and the landowners opposing it see  No More Powerlines.

If your property is impacted by FirstEnergy's  Gore-Doubs-GooseCreek line  we suggest reviewing the landowner (Limited Intervenors) case filings (documents numbered 72, 73, 78, 111, 112, 113, 118, 119, 120,  134, 137 and 142 especially the post hearing briefs as these have easement  information as well as case law ).  The BGE case is similarly proposed "within the existing easements" as the FirstEnergy Gore-Doubs-GooseCreek.  Get a copy of the easement documents for your property and review them with a land lawyer.  You may have a similar case to be made that First Energy does not have unrestricted access to add an additional 2 500kV transmission line across your property - even if it is within the easement.  

You can intervene pro-se as some property owners have or get together with your neighbours and hire a lawyer as others have done.  We encourage all property owners to file with their state utility commission to protect their property rights.