Virginia is in love with the tax revenue data centers provide. Northern Virginia is home of hundreds of data centers and is approving more every day. Virginia long ago ran out of electricity to power their data centers. Virginia's Clean Economy Act requires all electricity produced in Virginia to be "clean." Virginia has shut down much of its baseload fossil fuel generation. Where does Virginia think the electricity for its data centers is going to come from?
Surrounding states, like West Virginia and Pennsylvania, who still produce excess electricity from fossil fuels. Virginia thinks it is still "clean" and meeting its goals if it uses electricity generated from fossil fuels in surrounding states.
When a new data center is approved, it requests service from its local electric utility. That utility must provide the electric service requested as part of its responsibility as a public utility. When the local utility does not have enough generation to provide the service, it must acquire it. The local utility could build new generation near the need, if not for Virginia's Clean Economy Act. Since the local utility does not have what it needs, it sends its request up the chain to regional grid operator and planner, PJM Interconnection. PJM Interconnection is then holding the hot potato of supplying power to new data centers. PJM can only order new electric transmission to import power to Virginia, it cannot order new generators to be built in Virginia. Only Virginia can order new generators, and they are hamstrung by their Clean Economy Act.
PJM has been solving the data center electric need issue with the only tool in its toolbox... new electric transmission.
In 2023, PJM approved multiple new 500kV transmission lines to import electricity from surrounding states to Northern Virginia.
Surrounding states, like West Virginia and Pennsylvania, who still produce excess electricity from fossil fuels. Virginia thinks it is still "clean" and meeting its goals if it uses electricity generated from fossil fuels in surrounding states.
When a new data center is approved, it requests service from its local electric utility. That utility must provide the electric service requested as part of its responsibility as a public utility. When the local utility does not have enough generation to provide the service, it must acquire it. The local utility could build new generation near the need, if not for Virginia's Clean Economy Act. Since the local utility does not have what it needs, it sends its request up the chain to regional grid operator and planner, PJM Interconnection. PJM Interconnection is then holding the hot potato of supplying power to new data centers. PJM can only order new electric transmission to import power to Virginia, it cannot order new generators to be built in Virginia. Only Virginia can order new generators, and they are hamstrung by their Clean Economy Act.
PJM has been solving the data center electric need issue with the only tool in its toolbox... new electric transmission.
In 2023, PJM approved multiple new 500kV transmission lines to import electricity from surrounding states to Northern Virginia.
One of the new 500kV lines runs from a coal-fired electricity hub in southwestern Pennsylvania to Northern Virginia and passes through Jefferson County on its way.
In Jefferson County, this new transmission line will be built by expanding the existing 500/138 transmission corridor to add a second 500kV line. The corridor, running across the county south of Charles Town, currently looks like this.
In Jefferson County, this new transmission line will be built by expanding the existing 500/138 transmission corridor to add a second 500kV line. The corridor, running across the county south of Charles Town, currently looks like this.
The smaller of the two lines will be torn down and replaced by a second large metal lattice tower that will be 30-50 feet taller than the adjacent one. On the new poles will be the new 500kV circuit and a new 138kV circuit to replace the one torn down. In order to put these larger lines in, the easement that the smaller towers currently sits on (100 ft.) will have to be expanded to accommodate the larger structures. FirstEnergy, owner of the new project, has not yet announced how much the easement must expand.
Many homes line this existing easement, which was mapped out many decades ago when it was farmland. Over time, new homes were built just outside the existing easement. When the easement expands, many of these homes and outbuildings will be gobbled up and razed to make way for Northern Virginia's data center electric extension cord.
But that's not all, oh no. In the summer of 2024, PJM recognized that it had not planned enough imports for Northern Virginia's ever-growing data center burden in 2023. Now PJM needs another 5,400 MW of electricity to be imported to Northern Virginia from surrounding states. PJM followed its procedures to send out an RFP for new transmission lines to bring even more power to Northern Virginia. In response, it received more than 90 proposals. One of the new proposals revives the old, dead, unneeded PATH project that was cancelled in 2012 in response to overwhelming citizen opposition. The new proposal looks like this on PJM's map.
Many homes line this existing easement, which was mapped out many decades ago when it was farmland. Over time, new homes were built just outside the existing easement. When the easement expands, many of these homes and outbuildings will be gobbled up and razed to make way for Northern Virginia's data center electric extension cord.
But that's not all, oh no. In the summer of 2024, PJM recognized that it had not planned enough imports for Northern Virginia's ever-growing data center burden in 2023. Now PJM needs another 5,400 MW of electricity to be imported to Northern Virginia from surrounding states. PJM followed its procedures to send out an RFP for new transmission lines to bring even more power to Northern Virginia. In response, it received more than 90 proposals. One of the new proposals revives the old, dead, unneeded PATH project that was cancelled in 2012 in response to overwhelming citizen opposition. The new proposal looks like this on PJM's map.
As proposed, it would add a new 765kV transmission line (the biggest, most powerful AC line they can build) from the John Amos coal-fired power plant in Putnam County to Northern Virginia. John Amos, owned by American Electric Power, is the largest and dirtiest coal-fired electric generation plant in West Virginia. The new line would cross 14 West Virginia Counties on its way to Northern Virginia: Putnam, Kanawha, Roane, Calhoun, Braxton, Lewis, Upshur, Barbour, Tucker, Preston, Grant, Hardy, Hampshire and Jefferson. It is proposed to be built on a new 200 ft. wide right-of-way using metal lattice guyed "V" towers that look like this and would be 175 ft. tall.
The guy wires holding up these structures increase their footprint and make them impossible to farm around. You're not just dealing with an electric transmission tower, you're also dealing with 4 guy wires on a spreading footprint!
This new 765kV transmission line is proposed to run parallel to the existing transmission corridor in Jefferson County that is already proposed by be expanded by the new 500kV line PJM approved last year. It would add a third enormous transmission tower to that corridor and expand it another 200 ft.
Interesting note: Jefferson is the only place where a second transmission line is proposed in the same corridor impacted by the 2023 projects. We are fast becoming the superhighway for electric extension cords for Northern Virginia data centers. If we don't stand up now and stop this, PJM will think we don't care about impacts and that we will willingly accept more and more transmission lines until our county is destroyed by expanding electric transmission lines for Virginia!
What can you do? We need people to get involved to help organize and create an organization to oppose these transmission proposals. The StopPATHWV organization that incorporated and battled the PATH project has long since been disbanded. While the wealth of knowledge gained fighting PATH still exists, the few who remain need your help to get organized! Organize a meeting in your neighborhood, connect with other neighborhoods, hold larger meetings, and the people who will lead this fight will emerge. Grassroots groups are as organic as their name... get people together and the magic happens! The people who fought PATH the first time are standing by to help and educate, but we can't do it all by ourselves.
Here's something you can do right now... today... and in the upcoming months as PJM considers these new proposals and eventually selects the one it thinks best meets the need. Let PJM know what you think! You can send an email, or attend upcoming committee meetings and voice your opinion live at their meetings. Here's how to get involved:
This new 765kV transmission line is proposed to run parallel to the existing transmission corridor in Jefferson County that is already proposed by be expanded by the new 500kV line PJM approved last year. It would add a third enormous transmission tower to that corridor and expand it another 200 ft.
Interesting note: Jefferson is the only place where a second transmission line is proposed in the same corridor impacted by the 2023 projects. We are fast becoming the superhighway for electric extension cords for Northern Virginia data centers. If we don't stand up now and stop this, PJM will think we don't care about impacts and that we will willingly accept more and more transmission lines until our county is destroyed by expanding electric transmission lines for Virginia!
What can you do? We need people to get involved to help organize and create an organization to oppose these transmission proposals. The StopPATHWV organization that incorporated and battled the PATH project has long since been disbanded. While the wealth of knowledge gained fighting PATH still exists, the few who remain need your help to get organized! Organize a meeting in your neighborhood, connect with other neighborhoods, hold larger meetings, and the people who will lead this fight will emerge. Grassroots groups are as organic as their name... get people together and the magic happens! The people who fought PATH the first time are standing by to help and educate, but we can't do it all by ourselves.
Here's something you can do right now... today... and in the upcoming months as PJM considers these new proposals and eventually selects the one it thinks best meets the need. Let PJM know what you think! You can send an email, or attend upcoming committee meetings and voice your opinion live at their meetings. Here's how to get involved:
| pjm_comments.pdf |
If we don't stand up for ourselves, no one else will! Virginia is completely uninterested in solving its data center and energy issues because right now it's easy for them to take advantage of neighboring states. Only when Virginia's energy problems affect Virginians will Virginia effect change!
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