The second in-person Orange County open house meeting regarding the Joshua Falls-Yeat Transmission Project was held Monday afternoon.
The open house meetings, which are being held in each county impacted by the project, focus on the updated routes that were released last month by Valley Link, a joint venture of which Dominion is included. The project would run approximately 115 miles of 765kV transmission lines from Campbell County to Culpeper County crossing nine localities including Orange County. At 765kV, the transmission lines are the highest voltage, highest capacity transmission line type available in the country and would include structures between 135 and 160 feet tall requiring approximately 200 feet of right-of-way.
The updated maps reflect comments and ongoing routing research conducted since the first maps were published in March. A round of open house meetings was held following the release of those maps. The new routes fluctuate from the originals, moving further west in some areas of Orange County. The routes can be viewed at https://vltransmission.com/joshua-falls-to-yeat/#resources.
Dominion Energy’s Craig Carper, speaking on behalf of Valley Link, said the May routes represent refined lines incorporating the public comments and pieces of actionable feedback received since March. He said while not every request can be accommodated, for hundreds of people favorable changes have been made. He said in general, the refined routes are further away from homes and fewer than 75 homes along the entire route are within 500 feet of the lines.
“That’s a big change,” Carper said.
He said approximately 700 properties are located along the lines with less than half being residential.
“This is big infrastructure, it’s impactful,” Carper said. “Those are positive improvements and things we wouldn’t have known until we had these meetings.”
Another change is the line has moved further away from the Locust Grove Primary and Elementary Schools. In the March routes, the line was .23 miles from the schools. It’s now .69 miles away.
Carper said the routes will continue to be refined based on feedback received from the open house meetings being held this month.
“The more people who give feedback, the more potential for [changes],” he said.
Unionville farm owner Michael Carter, Jr. said the changes aren’t enough. The maps have the line coming behind his property, which has a 115 year history. Carter is the fifth generation to occupy the land and had plans to utilize it for agritourism, something he said won’t be possible with a large transmission line looming. As a vegan, Carter is especially concerned about the health impacts high transmission lines could have on water and the land.
“I’m frustrated,” he said. “There’s no regard. This is tyrannical behavior.”
With the line running behind Carter’s farm, there will be no compensation related to easements, but all the negative impacts. He said the technology exists to generate power for data centers in other ways, without running lines through rural communities. He also suggested placing the line underground with the utilities bearing the cost.
“This is going to be an energy thoroughfare with no benefits to us,” he said. “You can’t put a value on family history.”
He said rural communities like Orange County are the underdogs, with far less financial impact than the utility lobbyists who often donate to politicians.
“The legislators care more about lobbyist money than who they are representing,” Carter said.
Orange County resident and Block Valley Link member Jerry Garegnani painted an even clearer picture.
“Any politician that supports tax breaks for data centers, we’re not going to vote for them,” he said.
Garegnani said he’s been disappointed in the current politicians who haven’t spoken out against the transmission project. He said the county governments need to initiate lawsuits and do more than say “we don’t like this.”
Preserve Orange Alliance is continuing to get the word out and raise funds to mount a legal defense for landowners when the transmission project is submitted to the SCC. President Benjamin Pennington, who was at Monday’s open house, said the non-profit is continuing to gain steam. For more information, visit https://preserveorangealliance.org/donate/.
