Dominion Proposes New Route for Golden to Mars Power Line

After original plans for a transmission line in eastern Loudoun received pushback from the community and failed to garner needed support from School Board members, Dominion Energy has introduced a new route alternative.

The line is the next phase of a transmission line loop that will connect new 230 kilovolt and 500 kV lines with new substations, providing additional power infrastructure to the county. It begins at the Golden substation near the intersection of Rt. 28 and the W&OD Trail and travels southeast to a new substation east of Dulles International Airport.

The utility company originally proposed five possible routes, with the preferred route traveling along some existing transmission line corridors and near Rock Ridge High and Rosa Lee Carter Elementary schools. That proposal requires easements from Loudoun County Public Schools. The School Board in March declined to agree to that and said Dominion should look at underground options.

Alternative routes gave the school a wider berth but cut through neighborhoods, creating new transmission line rights-of-way.

The Board of Supervisors also urged more research into undergrounding options but said if that was not possible, they preferred the route that would impact the smallest number of people.

All the options received pushback from the community amid concerns over the health impacts of the high voltage lines.

“In light of the School Board’s rejection of the two routes over its property, and concerns from the County and other stakeholders, Dominion wanted to provide a route in this area that avoided school property and Loudoun County Parkway,” Dominion Energy representatives told Loudoun Now.

The new route, submitted May 13 and known as Route 3a, still travels through some existing rights-of-way and is located near the schools. However, it is moved slightly so that it would not be built on school-owned property and avoids cutting through the nearby neighborhoods.

“To do this, the line will have to be shifted to the north side of Broad Run. That will move that line closer to the residential properties in the Loudoun Valley Estates,” Deputy County Administrator Joe Kroboth told supervisors and School Board members June 2.

That will require more turns and bends in the line leading to a slightly longer route length of 8.4 miles, greater greenfield of 109.8 acres and less collocation of transmission lines to 3.8 miles.

“Essentially at every turn, we believe Dominion will need to constrict two poles instead of one pole to make that turn,” Kroboth said. “And the route, once it crosses to the north side of Broad Run, will follow either open space land owned by Loudoun Valley Estates or land owned by the Board of Supervisors.”

It will also increase the number of homes within 250 feet of the lines from 28 to 38 and within 500 feet from 133 to 182, impact more private parcels, and more floodplains, waterbody crossings, wetlands and forests.

Plans are submitted to the State Corporation Commission, which has regulatory authority of the lines, however hearings have not been scheduled yet. The county has filed to be a participant in the case which means they will be able to review and submit evidence and present during the hearings.