West Virginia landowners oppose power line for Northern Virginia data centers

Name: West Virginia landowners oppose power line for Northern Virginia data centers
Uploaded: 2026-09-18T02:00:32.000Z
Duration: 7 min 32 s
Description: Rural landowners in West Virginia are revolting against the proposed Valley Link North power transmission line, which aims to power data centers in Northern Virginia. The 200-mile ultra-high-voltage line threatens local farms and scenic views through eminent domain. Residents, primarily conservative voters, are escalating their opposition to the project.

News Clip7:32MS NOW·Charles Town, Jefferson County, WV·9/18/2026

Rural landowners in West Virginia are revolting against the proposed Valley Link North power transmission line, which aims to power data centers in Northern Virginia. The 200-mile ultra-high-voltage line threatens local farms and scenic views through eminent domain. Residents, primarily conservative voters, are escalating their opposition to the project.

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To feed the insatiable electricity demands of Northern Virginia's "Data Center Alley," utility developers want to construct Valley Link North: an ultra-high-voltage 765-kilovolt transmission line cutting a 200-foot-wide path across more than 200 miles of West Virginia countryside.

Standing over 185 feet tall, the massive steel towers threaten family farms, historic land, and scenic views via eminent domain. In a deeply conservative pocket of Appalachia, landowners and multi-time Trump voters—already squeezed by inflation, tariffs, and federal downsizing—are fighting back, warning that Washington and Big Tech's push for AI infrastructure may cost them their political loyalty at the ballot box.

MS NOW's Josh Einiger reports from Charles Town, West Virginia, on the escalating clash between rural landowners, tech conglomerates, and the future of the American power grid.

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#Virginia #WestVirginia #datacenters