High voltage transmission line proposed in Spotsylvania, Orange, Culpeper gets pushback

ORANGE COUNTY, Va. (7News) — Valley Link, a company partly owned by Dominion Energy, is proposing a $1 billion 765 kV high-voltage transmission line project that would span from Lynchburg to Culpeper County. A 765 kV line is the most powerful in America, and it would stand 135-165 feet tall.

The proposed project would impact Orange, Culpeper, Campbell, Appomattox, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Goochland, and Louisa counties, and possibly, western Spotsylvania County.

RELATED | Central Virginia residents raise concerns over proposed $1B power line project

The project aims to meet the rising energy demands from data centers in Loudoun, Prince William, Fairfax, and Culpeper counties. Stafford County and Spotsylvania County also have proposed data centers in the pipeline.

Several residents in Orange County have told 7News Reporter Nick Minock that the proposed high-voltage transmission line would impact their land, their homes and potentially set up eminent domain. They are also concerned that the massive towers would impact the beautiful rural landscape.

Orange County does not currently have operating data centers. Some residents tell 7News it’s unfair that their homes and land would be impacted because of data centers up north, while Orange County doesn’t see any local tax benefits from those data centers.

Mr. and Mrs. Cotton showed 7News Reporter Nick Minock how the high-voltage transmission line, as proposed, would go through their yard near their house.

“This is our paradise,” said Mrs. Cotton. “This is our peace, and if they put those in here, they will destroy that. We can’t walk out here. We can’t sit on our deck. It’s going to devastate us, and they shouldn’t be allowed to steal that away from us.”

The line would be feet away from their back deck. Their home is currently surrounded by tall trees, many of which would be torn down to make way for the easement.

“So we pretty much lose all our property and everything we built here and everything we did,” the Cotton’s added. “The SCC is the people that make this decision. Three people are going to make this decision to destroy rural America and come through with all these lines and everything. They’re the ones that are going to say private companies, that are data centers, they’re the ones that are going to come through and say, that’s a greater need than everybody in rural Virginia. This is the Commonwealth of Virginia, not the communist-wealth of Virginia. We should have the rights and the freedoms and stuff, and we should be able to say no to this massive power grab that’s intended on happening. It’s devastating. It’s devastating to all these people in Virginia, all these rural counties. It’s horrible.”

“It’s actually killing our property,” said Mr. and Mrs. Williams, homeowners who would also be impacted. They told 7News about how the line would go directly through their front yard. “Basically, it would take this 200-foot swath and cut that away and run another half mile down. We were looking at possibly new pastures, more horses, [and a] barn house type thing, depending [on] what the kids do when they graduate college. So you can’t do anything now. I’ve spoken to some realtors already, and they said if they come through here, it’s going to kill our property value.”

The proposed line would also go through Mark Primeau’s driveway and be located feet away from his house.

“One of the main proposed routes would go right up our driveway and it would come into the property about 150 feet from my home,” said Mr. Primeau. “It’s not fair, and I think there’s got to be a better way. I understand that these data centers are needed for the product that they’re producing, and just like any other business, go find your own answer. There’s ways to generate power nearby. Find that answer. Instead of destroying the lives of hundreds of people, thousands of people.”

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Mark added his home and others like it would significantly drop in value because of the proposed line.

Another family told 7News the line would go through their family-owned turkey farm, impacting their livelihood.

“I’ve lived here since the second grade,” said Linda Bowling. “So my husband and I are from this area and met in school, in grade school, and we actually own our house. We built a house where it is now. I don’t want the lines coming through here at all. I feel like we don’t have a need for it here. It’s to service the data centers up north, and I feel like they need to power their own data centers. When the leaves are off the trees here, we can actually see the Blue Ridge Mountains from my kitchen. And that’s one of my husband’s great things that he loves. And so Mike and I actually share a grandson. And so I feel like I’m fighting for my family that’s in the area. And my grandson, because he will potentially leave Chase the farm.”

“They want a farm,” said Mike. “And what can you do with power lines here? It’s going to impact my land. They told me it’s undeveloped land. I got prime farmland over there, and we’re getting ready to talk about building two more turkey houses over there. So I can’t do [anything] now until they decide what they’re going to do with this.”

The Farley’s told 7News the line will impact their house and their daughter’s home where she is raising her children.

“This is taking away their future,” said Mrs. Farley. “Basically, we want the grandkids to live there. They’re eventually going to get our house. It will completely change their way of life and ours. It’s very sad. It really is sad. We’re not happy with it at all.”

“It sucks,” said Mr. Farley, who added the line will likely impact wildlife as well. “We have mink. I have them on the game cameras, pictures of them. There’s a whole lot of life habitat back there that’s going to get ruined. The water table gets destroyed. It gets lowered by all this type of work. So yeah, with regards to this, it’s going through people’s property and we’re against it.”

“I mean, they’re running the lines through nine different counties, and they’re not bearing the cost of it,” the Mr. and Mrs. Farley added. “That’s going to be borne by everybody that’s paying for the electric bill in the state of Virginia.”

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The line would also go through Anna Ahlbin’s yard. Anna is raising eight children. She said the line would go straight through her backyard. She says her kids currently walk to the back of the property to play in the creek, but the line would go over the property, prohibiting her kids from playing outside as they do now.

“It’s horrible,” said Anna. “It’s unjust. It’s destroying farmland. It’s destroying lives. It’s destroying the rural character of Virginia. It’s unnecessary. It should be stopped. This is our lot. We’ve got tons of kids on our property. I’ve got eight kids of my own, and they all come out and they play, they walk down here, they go to the creek.”

Anna added one of the reasons why her family bought their home was for the beautiful landscape, which would be ruined by the lines.

Del. Phillip Scott represents Orange and Spotsylvania counties in the House of Delegates. He faults state lawmakers for passing the Virginia Clean Economy Act which mandates a transition to a 100% clean energy grid for the state’s major utilities, Dominion Energy by 2045 and Appalachian Power by 2050.

“From my perspective, I see this as a result of the Virginia Clean Economy Act,” said Del. Scott. “We can’t put up natural gas power stations anywhere anymore. So in order to meet the need, instead of exploring alternatives, they’re just trying to create the easiest proposal to get power from point A to point B, and for them, it’s cutting through rural Virginia.”

Del. Scott mentioned that there are around 100 acres of solar panels in Spotsylvania County which demonstrate “clean” energy isn’t enough to power Virginia’s energy needs. Scott says if northern Virginia needs more power, utility companies should generate power in places like Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun counties instead of impacting rural counties in central Virginia and south of the Rappahannock River with new transmission lines.

“I think we need to put power stations where the power need is located,” said Scott. “If it’s in northern Virginia with the data centers, then we need to find a way to create that power locally, instead of creating a transmission line that’s going to interrupt people’s way of life.”

Read Valley Link’s letter to the community below:

In March, the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors shared its concerns in a letter about the Joshua Falls to Yeat Transmission Line Project proposed route in Spotsylvania County.

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“The area of the county that the proposed route passes through is largely pristine rural farmland and forests,” the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors wrote to commissioners. “This land is part of our Agricultural and Forestal District that has been farmed, in some cases by the same family, for generations. The line would negatively impact residents and operations of local farms, as well as changing the historic character and landscape of the area. Additionally, some residents have expressed concerns about potential health consequences of living near high-power electric transmission lines. We ask that the proposed route be moved to avoid Spotsylvania County, protecting the local environment and area residents.”

Valley Link said the transmission line project is one of the most important energy projects in Virginia’s history.

The company said the new transmission line, “will form a critical backbone of Virginia’s electric grid, ensuring reliable, affordable, and resilient power for decades to come.”