LTLA Releases MARL Power Line Impact Study, NextEra to Consider Alternate Route - Loudoun Now

LTLA Releases MARL Power Line Impact Study, NextEra to Consider Alternate Route | News | loudounnow.com

The Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance has released an impact study showing how a proposed transmission line project by NextEra Energy planned to travel across western Loudoun will affect county residents.

Last year, PJM Interconnection, the organization responsible for coordinating power across 13 states including Virginia, opened a request for transmission line projects to meet the growing demand for power across the region. As part of that open window, the organization approved a proposal by Florida-based NextEra Energy collaborating with other energy providers, to build a line known as the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link. A portion of that line is planned to cut south from Harpers Ferry through western Loudoun to a substation near Leesburg.

The 137-page report is compiled of impact statements from organizations and individuals who testify to the “very likely damage” a line through new rights-of-way would inflict if it passes through rural Loudoun. Those statements are supplemented by a series of maps to illustrate the density of historical, economic and natural resources in Loudoun that would “suffer irreparable damage.”

“The impact that we have been able to chronicle in this report shows that the [State Corporation Commission] standards could not possibly be met, because the proposal from NextEra fails to minimize or avoid negative impact,” LTLA Founder Sue Manch said.

The study states that proposal fails to avoid or minimize effects on economic development in Loudoun County and Virginia; fails to avoid or reasonably minimize adverse impacts on scenic assets, historic resources and the environment; and fails to give adequate consideration to the existing rights-of-way.

“Those are three tenants of the SCC’s decision-making process,” she said. “There’s no way that the proposal they have currently put forward meets any of those three standards that they say they use to determine if projects should move forward or not.”

The report cites impacts to the county’s historic districts, cemeteries and burial grounds, agricultural and forestall districts, conservation easements, rural roads, specialty agriculture, the equine industry, wineries, breweries, bed and breakfasts, water resources, limestone and mountain overlay districts and plant and wildlife habitats.

During its review of the NextEra proposal, PJM cited similar concerns recognizing that the line would run through “highly developed residential and commercial developments as well as state and local conservation easements.”

“For [the project] medium-high constructability risks are assessed for the proposed line routes due to anticipated lengthy regulatory process, potential public acquisition, construction difficulty, environmental constraints and property acquisition, which may have significant impacts on the cost and schedule for the proposed project,” according to a Nov. 17 PJM Constructability and Financial Analysis Report.

“We met with NextEra last week and we know that the impact report and the efforts that we’ve been making to raise community awareness have had an impact on them. They have definitely said they’re giving a lot more consideration to using existing rights-of-way and working with Dominion and working with PJM,” Manch said.

A map shows an alternative option to a plan proposed by NextEra Energy that would have a 500 kilovolt transmission line built across new rights-of-way in western Loudoun.

On July 9, the energy company is expected to attend a PJM committee meeting to discuss alternate routes including the use of existing rights-of-way, which a NextEra representative told Loudoun Now is part of the company’s “commitment to responsible development” and is part of regularly scheduled meetings.

“It’s going to be a watershed moment for us,” Manch said.

The alternate consideration reroutes the greenfield line to existing transmission line rights-of-way along the Virginia/Maryland border and then runs south to the Aspen substation near Leesburg.

“This reroute is the outcome of successful collaboration between NextEra and the incumbent Transmission Owners to determine the most feasible route and minimize area impact for the new Woodside to Aspen 500 kV line segment,” according to a PJM reliability analysis update presentation.

The PJM Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee meeting is open to the public and registration to attend is due by Monday, July 3 at 3 p.m.