More than 500 Orange County residents attended a two-hour open house meeting Monday to voice their concerns regarding a proposed project that would place some of the state’s largest power lines through the area.
The Valley Link transmission projects, approved by regional transmission organization PJM Interconnection in February 2025, are a joint venture by Dominion Energy, Transource and First Energy. Valley Link includes three separate projects–building approximately 260 miles of 765kV transmission line and two substations between Putnam County, WV and Frederick County, MD; building approximately 115 miles of 765kV transmission line and a substation between Campbell County and Culpeper County, both in Virginia; and building a new substation in Caroline County.
The second of the three projects, named the Joshua Falls-Yeat project, will likely have the most local impact. Preliminary routes cross up to nine localities, down from the original number of 15 or more, including Orange County. At 765kV, the transmission lines are the highest voltage, highest capacity transmission line type available in the country and would be among the largest lines in the state. American Electric Power (AEP) built a 765kV grid. The newly proposed line would link to an existing AEP line near Lynchburg.
The specific route for the line is still being developed with several options being evaluated. That process, which takes into account community input, surveys and the study of environmental, cultural and historical resources, includes open house meetings in each of the affected localities.
A packed house
Orange County’s open house was packed to the brim, with Orange County Sheriff’s Office Deputies directing parking in the adjoining field and Valley Link workers actively monitoring the ingress and egress at the door to ensure Lafayette Station’s 150 person capacity wasn’t exceeded. At times, a line of people waiting to get in was sprawled down the sidewalk with vehicle traffic causing delays on Rt. 20.
Inside, more than two dozen Valley Link representatives, composed of employees from the joint venture’s three companies, answered questions, looked up parcels and listened to feedback.
“These meetings are legitimately to get feedback,” Dominion Energy’s Craig Carper said while speaking on behalf of Valley Link. “We’re primarily here to listen. We have routing experts, land value experts, environmental experts and more to effectively answer people’s questions.”
Carper said Valley Link chose to cast a wide net, notifying more than 120,000 residents among the nine localities about the project. He said it’s likely only approximately 700 residents will be impacted by the final route, but could not give specific information as to how many Orange County parcels or residents are currently impacted by the preliminary route options.
The transmission project exists to meet rising electrical demands. Carper said it’s the greatest increase in electrical consumption since WWII. He said typically Dominion averages a demand of approximately 20GW and it has taken 100 years to get to that amount of consumption. However, it’s supposed to double in the next 15-20 years. And while data centers are a large reason for the increased demand, they’re not the only factor. Carper said things like population growth, other industrial growth, the proliferation of smart devices and the electrification of nearly everything also contribute to the issue.
“All of these things collectively factor into the demand growth,” he said.
Carper said the goal is to meet the increased demand while minimizing the impacts on the communities. When determining the final route, he said the company tries to avoid dense residential areas, locating over schools, environmentally protected areas, historical areas and large bodies of water such as rivers and lakes.
“We’re trying to go in areas deemed industrial or technology zones and minimize the viewshed,” Carper said. “Some impacts are inevitable, but we can work as hard as possible to minimize those as much as we can.
“We’re trying to minimize impact and build as much consensus as possible,” he added.
Underground?
Many have voiced opinions that they’d like to see the transmission lines placed underground versus overhead. Last month, PJM approved a proposal by Dominion to construct a 185-mile 525kV underground transmission line to push power to Loudoun County. Carper said that the HVDC line is different from the Joshua Falls-Yeat line in that it is direct current, not a standard, three-phase alternating current transmission line. More than 98% of the country’s transmission system utilizes AC lines because they’re easier to step down to different voltages via transformers for distribution.
In general, undergrounding lines is a slower, costlier process. The Joshua-Yeats line, if placed underground, would increase from $1 billion to $20 billion or more. The bigger issue, however, Carper said is that the technology to underground a 765kV AC transmission line doesn’t exist.
“It’s never been done,” he said.
Local feedback
Board of supervisors chairman Bryan Nicol said the project has the potential to significantly impact the county and all folks hold dear about it–the viewshed, agriculture, history and more.
“People have invested their life savings in their homes,” he said.
Nicol said he would like to see Valley Link host a thorough, thoughtful process involving residents. He said the time between when landowners were notified and the meeting was scheduled was short, making the whole thing feel rushed.
“We don’t need to rush this,” he said.
The board will host a meeting March 24 at 5 p.m. at Orange County High School. Valley Link representatives have been invited to present information on the transmission project. Residents will also be able to share their feedback.
During the open house, residents filled comment sheets with their feedback about the project after speaking to Valley Link representatives.
Resident Britt Lewis said she worries about environmental impacts.
“In our county, there’s so much here,” she said. “So many are affected. There are wetlands and marshlands, people who survive off the land.”
Lewis said when asking about impacts on migratory birds a biologist representing Valley Link told her the sacrifice of the few is needed for the many, an answer she said ended the conversation.
Paul McDonald recently purchased a historical property that he said would be devastated by the transmission project. He said all three draft routes currently go through the property. McDonald is organizing residents in all nine localities in opposition of the project. He has created BlockValleyLink.org to disseminate information, gather stories about potential impacts and help landowners submit no trespassing letters to local officials. He said the personal impact stories will be instrumental in the future SCC process and any litigation that may occur.
Future plans
Valley Link will be back in Orange County this summer, hosting another open house meeting in May or June. That meeting will have updated information, reflecting the changes made to the route reflective of the public feedback from the current open house meetings. The company intends to submit an application to the SCC in September. The SCC process typically takes a year and involves opportunities for public input.
Residents should also note that this may not be the last transmission project to come to the area. Carper said increased electrical demand isn’t something that is going away.
“This is an issue we’ll continue to grapple with,” he said.
For more information on the Joshua Falls-Yeat Transmission Line Project visit https://vltransmission.com/joshua-falls-to-yeat/.
