SCC Approves Loudoun Transmission Line, Nixes Undergrounding; Final Route to be Determined

After months of fierce debate and community rallies, the State Corporation Commission on Thursday approved the above-ground construction of the Golden-Mars high-voltage transmission line in Loudoun County.

There are two options for the final route of the line, and it will be up to the Loudoun County School Board to decide if it will reverse its previous decision to block the project from using land easements near two schools in Ashburn.

The Golden-Mars 500kV/250kV transmission line is part of Dominion Energy’s three-pronged “reliability loop” that connects multiple substations to funnel more power to the major cluster of data centers in Ashburn. Two parts of the loop are already in the process of approval and construction. The SCC ruled that the Golden-Mars line, the final piece of this puzzle, is within the public interest.

The commission chose ‘Route 4’ as their priority option for the lines out of the six options provided by Dominion. This route runs along the Broad Run Stream Valley Park and crosses near the two schools. The order states that there are no homes within 100 feet of the center line, and, compared to the other routes, it has fewer homes within 250 to 500 feet of the center line.

“(The route) is located predominantly within the Broad Run floodplain in areas where residential uses are prohibited, and electrical infrastructure is more consistent with the types of uses and design characteristics of the surrounding area,” the order reads.

The Loudoun Valley Estates neighborhoods, as well as the Loudoun County School Board, have for months urged the SCC to bury the transmission lines to avoid potential impacts to homes and students at Rock Ridge High School and Rosa Lee Carter Elementary.

Hundreds of community members turned out to public hearings and offered testimony in the case, mainly opposing the transmission lines being built overhead.

The SCC stated that burying the lines, even partially, would not be practical for the project.

Dominion estimated that the cost of the transmission line, when built overhead, would be about $513 million. A witness for the county submitted a separate analysis of undergrounding the lines in a hybrid format, but the SCC noted some stark potential variation in the presented numbers. The high end of those figures could place the project’s cost at $1.5 billion – triple what Dominion is estimating.

The order also lays out other challenges for burying the lines. Commissioners say that method would delay the project’s completion for years, but Dominion can’t afford to wait because the electric grid is already strained, and without the transmission line to complete the reliability loop, existing infrastructure could be damaged.

If energy is not provided through this loop, Dominion has stated, the regional grid operator, PJM, could levy violations on the company.

The burial of lines would also be in conflict with existing transmission infrastructure, commissioners determined, and there are no sites available for a transition site where the lines would enter the earth. The geological makeup of the area would also make it hard to bury lines, the ruling stated.

“The project remains critical to maintaining regional grid reliability and supporting data centers under development in Northern Virginia and Loudoun County,” Dominion said in a statement after the SCC’s decision was published. “We understand that constructing a new transmission line will have impacts to the community and we do our best to minimize those impacts.”

In August of last year, dozens of Loudoun Valley Estates residents attended a school board hearing to urge them to join in testifying to the SCC for the case. The board previously voted against two of the routes that would require access to easements on school board property, unless the lines could be buried.

Loudoun County neighbors fight proposed Dominion transmission lines for Data Center Alley

The school board has the ability to block one of the two remaining options, Route 4, from being selected because their property ownership trumps the SCC’s desire to have the lines built along this route, which borders the schools.

If the school board blocks Route 4, the SCC’s backup option is Route 3a, which the order states would be “regrettable” due to it having a much larger impact on the surrounding homes, being much longer in length, and because new rights-of-way would be needed, which would jack up the price of the project.

Loudoun Valley Estates resident Vicky Hu has been a vocal opponent of the lines being built overhead. In route 3a, her backyard would be the site of one of the 165-foot monopoles. She and her neighbors fear that not only will their views be impacted with the need to remove trees, but their home values could tank, too.

“I’m disappointed with the SCC ruling,” Hu said Friday. “The only feasible option should be underground to avoid the damage to homes, communities, and also the best choice to preserve the health of students and their families.” She added that she and her neighbors are reviewing the SCC ruling and weighing their options to move forward.

The General Assembly this year passed legislation born out of the concerns about the Golden-Mars case.

Democratic state Sen. Kannan Srinivasan and Del. JJ Singh, who represent the Ashburn area of Loudoun, passed Senate Bill 827 and House Bill 1487, which would set up a pilot program to allow the SCC to identify four qualifying transmission projects to be buried.

The bills would allow for the increased cost of burying 500kV transmission lines to be shared with the locality. While those bills await approval, rejection or amendment by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, the SCC said they wouldn’t apply it to the Golden-Mars case.

“The increased cost of underground transmission lines versus conducting an overhead solution is a significant issue, and these pieces of legislation suggest a potential path forward in appropriate cases,” the order stated. “The record evidence produced over the course of this case does not support a finding that undergrounding is technically feasible.”

The community is now taking a closer look at its options as pressure mounts for the school board to make a decision on whether Route 4 can proceed.

“My initial reaction is that this decision goes against the will of our residents and the will of the General Assembly, both of which stood together and said that residents should not be punished by the unchecked sprawl of data centers,” Singh said in a statement. “Two things can be true at once: I respect and value the SCC, while I am also bitterly disappointed by the result.”

As of April 10, the Loudoun school board does not have any hearings or votes planned regarding the route debate.

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