PJM recommends transmission line be built despite overwhelming public concern

By Audrey Carpenter

After recent Town Hall meetings in Hillsboro and Warrenton highlighting a proposal for a new 510-kilovolt (kV) electrical transmission line that would meander through western Loudoun County from West Virginia to Leesburg to provide more electricity to data centers, 250 Northern Virginia residents along with conservation groups submitted comments voicing their concerns to PJM Interconnection, the entity that coordinates the region’s electricity.

Despite the overwhelming opposition, PJM’s Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee decided to recommend to its Board of Managers that the transmission line be built.

The advisory committee held a public hybrid meeting Dec. 5 in Audubon, PA at its Conference and Training Center, which included virtual participation. The purpose of the meeting was to hear from the public and answer questions about the proposed transmission line before sending a final recommendation onto the PJM Board of Managers for review. The Board of Managers is set to vote on whether to approve the transmission line at its Dec. 11 meeting.

The Board of Managers is composed of 10 members who are responsible for maintaining reliable electrical power across 13 states and D.C., according to its website. Brief profiles of the members can be viewed here: https://www.pjm.com/about-pjm/who-we-are/pjm-board

In response to the proposed transmission line proposals, the Piedmont Environmental Council, a non-profit focused on conservation, restoration, smart growth and climate action based in Warrenton, partnered with 20 other conservation groups to form the Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition which held its first press conference in Woodbridge Dec. 1.

PEC has been intensely following the proposals for new transmission lines to be built in the region, and hosted the recent Town Hall meetings. It provided information packets to the Town Hall attendees with sample letters that could be submitted to PJM.

The Virginia Data Center Reform Coalition is asking the state government to require more transparency around land use decisions, energy and water usage by requesting it require data center developers to mitigate negative environmental impacts and shift the cost of new transmission lines and power generation to developers and data center users, rather than ratepayers. The estimated cost for the transmission line is $71.72 million, PJM estimates.

State Delegate-elect Geary Higgins (R-Dist. 30) attended the meeting virtually and expressed his opposition. “I am deeply concerned about the proposed routes for these transmission lines through western Loudoun County. It does not appear that these lines in any way service western Loudoun County,” he said. “The Waterford Historic District holds the highest historic designation available in the country.” The proposed transmission line appears to impact the historic district.

“This would be similar to running 500 kV power lines through the Gettysburg Battlefield or colonial Williamsburg,” Higgins said.

Maps of the transmission route (Project 853) show it would go through several national and scenic trails and historic parks, such as the Harpers Ferry Historic Park and the Appalachian Scenic Trail. It would also impact the Paeonian Springs Historic District, as well as the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, the Philip A. Bolen Memorial Park and Sweet Run State Park.

Big lattice towers like those near River Creek would cut diagonally through western Loudoun as well as navigating a complicated, winding path through the center of the county, including along Rt.7, wrote Tom Donahue of Leesburg in a letter to the editor in the Blue Ridge Leader. He would like to see PJM stick to existing rights of ways rather than build completely new transmission paths.

If selected, Florida-based NextEra Energy would build the transmission lines and there was concern expressed about using an out-of-state contractor. NextEra would finalize the proposed path for an application early next year to the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The SCC would then make a final decision as governed by Virginia legal code §56-46.1. If built, the anticipated timeline for completion of the transmission line is June 2027.