Residents protest plan for high-voltage power line through nine Virginia counties

Dominion Energy and AEP have announced plans for the "Valley Link" project, a 115-mile high-voltage power line intended to run through nine Virginia counties, from near Lynchburg to Culpeper County. The project, which requires a 200-foot right-of-way across private properties and involves 12-story-tall metal towers, aims to meet the increased demand for electricity from data centers and other new industrial developments in the state. The companies have been conducting community information meetings, which have drawn large and largely unhappy crowds. Residents in counties such as Fluvanna have expressed significant opposition, with over 300 people attending a meeting there. Concerns include the potential use of eminent domain to acquire private land, the destruction of property values, and perceived health risks like childhood cancer associated with electromagnetic fields from power lines. Many attendees also voiced frustration over logistical issues with the meetings themselves, such as conflicting timings and a lack of direct dialogue format. Dominion spokesman Craig Carper acknowledged the surge in electricity demand due to data centers but also cited new industrial developments and climate change. He stated the company's efforts to avoid densely populated, natural, or historic areas, and denied health threats from electromagnetic energy, referencing "decades of data" that found no causality, though the article also cites the World Health Organization's classification of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields as "possibly carcinogenic." The utilities considered highway routes but found them unfeasible. Dominion Energy and AEP anticipate filing their request with the Virginia State Corporation Commission in September, hoping for approval within a year, followed by two years of construction. Further community meetings are scheduled in Goochland and Buckingham County.