Residents fight against Dominion transmission line project in Ashburn

A battle is brewing as the information superhighway tries to take a sharp turn through dozens of neighborhood backyards.

Dominion Energy is seeking state approval of a new high voltage transmission line that would cut right through the Loudoun Valley Estates neighborhood in Ashburn.

Dominion says the proposed lines are needed to power data centers and the plans call for building new poles taller than the Statue of Liberty.

One of them would be in Vicky Hu’s backyard, just 100 feet from her backdoor.

Hu and her husband moved to their home in the Loudoun Valley Estates neighborhood of Ashburn 20 years ago. Deer on their property graze through the trees that they say would be cut down to clear a pathway for feeding the explosion of data centers in Ashburn.

“I’m very angry and very sad and kind of confused how this happened,” Hu said

In 2008, Loudoun County developed a plan to expand its data center footprint to diversify the county’s tax base. To say the plan worked would be an understatement. Loudoun County says it has used data center tax revenue to lower the real estate tax rate nearly 30% since 2018 — something no other jurisdiction in the area has been able to do.

But more data centers are coming, and Dominion Energy says the birth of AI requires even more electricity for the already power-thirsty data centers.

“We are working to keep up with that, with the energy demand,” said Rob Richardson with Dominion Energy.

He says the proposal to run a transmission line through Loudoun Valley Estate is the third piece of a larger loop to service Ashburn’s data center power needs. Previous routes for the project were also met with opposition.

“This is an unfortunate route because of how close it does come to some residence and, in fact, it bisects one resident’s property, and we understand why people are really upset about that,” Richardson said.

Loudoun Valley Estate’s HOA and residents have rallied the school board to join their fight in opposition, and dozens of neighborhoods are pleading with the state to reject this project to protect homeowners.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration — a non-partisan, non-government administration working on energy related public information — forecasts the country is still on the front end of data center growth. Over the next 25 years, EIA estimates data centers will use more electricity than any other business or service in the country.

Dominion Energy says right now, for every new data center in Loudoun County, it will need to build a new substation and new high voltage transmission lines because the grid is tapped out.

“We are not against data centers, but we’re asking the county to think about it: ‘Okay, what is the smart growth to benefit everybody? Not just data centers, not just the power company, but everyone who lives in Ashburn.’”

If a data center comes online today, it uses, on average, as much power as 25,000 homes, according to Dominion.

While it will generate millions in new tax revenue, some of our neighbors say it’s costing them their quality of life.

The State Corporation Commission will ultimately decide the fate of the project and approve which route Dominion Energy may build the transmission line. That hearing is set for Sept.18 in Loudoun County.