Dominion Energy’s Golden to Mars transmission line project in Loudoun County has been making headlines. The project is seemingly moving forward even after the power company and stakeholders objected and asked for a delay.
Last week, the State Corporation Commission ruled that the project, first proposed last year, can no longer be delayed. The SCC has regulatory authority over utilities, and its decisions can only be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court.
Project Overview
The Golden to Mars project — named after the two substations it would connect — would supply additional electric power to eastern Loudoun County. It runs 230- and 500-kilovolt power lines between the intersection of Route 28 and the W&OD Trail on one end, and a future substation southeast of Old Ox Road on the other.
The Corporation Commission and Dominion Energy say the project is necessary to continue providing reliable power to the growing county for current needs. And it will support what the commission calls “significant load growth in the future.”
Critics of the project, including Loudoun residents, the school board, and the board of supervisors, say that’s code for data centers. They also object to the 185-foot towers that the project would bring, the disruptions caused by construction, and the humming made by the power lines once they’re in operation.
Route Changes
The commission originally selected a route that would pass near Rock Ridge High School and Rosa Carter Elementary School. That plan was contingent on the school board permitting the project to use its land, but they never did.
Instead, in June, the commission picked a different path, called Route 3A. That path includes land donated to the schools by the homeowners association of Loudoun Valley Estates.
It’s unclear, Division Counsel Wesley Allen said at a meeting earlier this month, why the SCC has the authority to order the new route that also passes through school property. The board of supervisors has, however, asked the school board to grant the easement that Dominion needs.
In April, the SCC said that in two public hearings and more than 600 public comments on the project, residents “almost universally” recommended putting at least some of the power lines underground.
Last month, the commission said delaying the Golden to Mars project “unreasonably jeopardizes the provision of reliable electric service within the commonwealth.”
In a twist, the commission’s ruling came just as Dominion, the board of supervisors, and the school board asked the commission to grant a stay, saying that the three parties had made “meaningful progress” on a settlement, WUSA9 reported.
The county has filed a notice of appeal with the Virginia Supreme Court.
The school board and board of supervisors are holding a joint meeting on Wednesday, July 29, to further discuss the project and how they’ll respond to the commission’s decision.
‘A False Choice’
U.S. Rep Suhas Subramanyam last week urged the parties to “come back to the table” to consider putting the power lines predominantly on Old Ox Road.
Subramanyam said he’d proposed this earlier only to be told that federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would object to the project running over their land. But, after speaking with NOAA Administrator Dr. Neil Jacobs, Subramanyam said, “I am confident that the administrator and his team will explore and even support allowing an alternative Golden to Mars route along their property.”
“We’ve been faced with a false choice: Build Golden to Mars power lines on residential property or build them on school property,” Subramanyam said in a statement. “Both options would be harmful to our community.”
Feature image, JU.STOCKER/stock.adobe.com
