Large transmission line to cut through Virginia forests and farmland

The Valley Link Transmission Company, a partnership including Dominion Energy, FirstEnergy, and Transource Energy (a subsidiary of American Electric Power), is spearheading a major 115-mile, 765-kilovolt transmission line project in Virginia. This substantial infrastructure, which is estimated to cost $1 billion and aims for completion by 2029, is designed to carry up to 6.6 gigawatts of energy to meet rapidly increasing power demands. Dominion Energy reports that data center growth is a primary driver, expecting energy demand in Virginia to increase by 76% with data center expansion, compared to just 10% without it. The transmission line will traverse nine rural Virginia counties—Campbell, Appomattox, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa, Spotsylvania, Orange, and Culpeper—running from the Joshua Falls substation near Lynchburg to the proposed Yeat substation in Richardsville. The project has ignited strong public opposition, particularly evident at an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting where residents voiced concerns about fragmented farms, environmental harm, lowered property values, and altered rural landscapes. Farmer Katelyn Burner articulated frustration that rural communities are expected to address a problem generated by Northern Virginia's data center concentration. Environmental groups, such as the Piedmont Environmental Council, are also raising alarms about the project's impact on undeveloped land. Their analysis suggests the line's right-of-way could consume about 2,600 acres of forest and farmland, potentially fragmenting critical habitat corridors and impacting federally threatened freshwater mussels and bat species. Dominion Energy spokesperson Craig Carper and environmental consultant Ginny Gills maintain that the energy will distribute across the grid, not solely to Northern Virginia, and that the utility will coordinate with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to survey bat populations and minimize environmental impacts through revegetation. The project is proceeding with regulatory oversight. PJM Interconnection, which operates the Mid-Atlantic power grid, approved the Valley Link project in February 2025 as part of its Regional Transmission Expansion Plan. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will conduct an environmental review after Valley Link submits its proposal to the State Corporation Commission, which is expected to take about a year for review. Public input will continue to be gathered at upcoming open houses.