More than 200 people joined us on June 11 for our Community Meeting on Transmission Lines at Heritage High School to learn about transmission line proliferation in Loudoun County resulting from the data center explosion. Below, you’ll find links to the presentation slides and additional information about the issues we discussed.

Resources:

• Presentations:
  • Landsdowne Conservancy
  • Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance
  • The Piedmont Environmental Council
• Data center explainer video – please share this widely!
• PEC’s interactive online map of transmission line proposals
• Take action – send a message to your state elected officials using our online advocacy campaign
• PEC’s webpage about data centers
• Environmental Policy Recommendations in the Virginia Conservation Network (VCN) Common Agenda Briefing Book for the 2023 Virginia General Assembly:
  • Mitigating Data Center Development Impacts
  • Surging Energy Demand from Data Centers

We encourage you to continue to talk to your friends, family and neighbors about transmission lines and data centers and pass along the information we’ve included here.

Input Opportunities: 

Public awareness and input are essential to achieving meaningful change to the state’s current approach to data center development. Otherwise, communities like Loudoun will continue to see a lack of support on addressing the long-term impacts of data center proposals, new power lines and substations (see below for ways you can help).

1. The deadline to provide comment on the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor, which would include Loudoun County routes, is June 24, 2024. You can use our form letter or send an email with your comments to [email protected].
   
2. The online SCC public comment period for the Aspen to Golden line, which would run along the south side of Route 7 near Goose Creek, is open through September 10, 2024. Also, stay tuned for a local public hearing with the SCC in September.
   
3. NextEra public information inputs. NextEra is the utility company building the western Loudoun transmission line. Stay alert for details about possible community meetings in the coming months. In the meantime, please submit asap comments/questions about this project on this NextEra webpage. 
   
4. Dominion Energy is continuing stakeholder and public input meetings as it determines how and where to route the eastern Loudoun transmission lines approved by PJM Interconnection, our regional transmission organization. Its next virtual and in-person public information meetings are expected in late July or early August. We will share information on these public input opportunities as we learn about them.

Unfortunately, the explosion of data center demand has resulted in PJM Interconnection opening another window to accept additional transmission line proposals to provide power to the industry in Virginia and the region. We will keep you informed as we learn more about that, and any new opportunities to engage in public comment on transmission line proposals or data center applications in the county.

For more information, reach out to PEC’s Gem Bingol ([email protected]), Tia Earman ([email protected]) or Julie Bolthouse ([email protected]). You can also contact Abigail Zurfluh at Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance at [email protected] and Bryan Turner at Lansdowne Conservancy at [email protected].