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

Residents of Loudoun Valley Estates attend the Loudoun County School Board meeting to ask them to be a participant in an SCC hearing about proposed transmission lines in their neighborhood. (Photo by Shannon Heckt/Virginia Mercury)

As the demand to pump power to energy-thirsty data centers concentrated in Northern Virginia swells, a debate about where to put  towering high-powered transmission lines in populated areas has put one Loudoun County community on the defensive.

Dominion Energy is working to bring a reliability loop of power to the so-called Data Center Alley in Ashburn. Two routes that will connect substations to over 100 data centers in the area are already approved and in the process of being built. To complete the last portion of the loop, the utility, state regulators, local leaders and community members must determine which route is most palatable for the more developed areas of town.

A group of neighbors in Loudoun Valley Estates in Ashburn have banded together to try and prevent the 165 foot, 500kv high-voltage transmission lines from being built in their backyards as part of one of the routes proposed by Dominion. One homeowner said she was blindsided by the new route being added to the proposal this year, which moved the transmission line from the Rock Ridge High School grounds up the nearby hill, cutting her backyard in half.

“I mean, we’ve got so many memories in our house, the same as our neighbors. And this thing just shattered our life. We haven’t put everything on hold because we just don’t know what’s going to happen,” homeowner Vicky Hu said.

Hu has lived in the Loudoun Valley Estates neighborhood for 20 years. She raised her daughter there and enjoys the forested look of the area – which is what drew her from Fairfax County. She also sold many of the homes in the community.

Her yard is projected to have one of the massive towers placed in it under proposed route 3a. There is the possibility that eminent domain laws, with approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, could remove her from her home if the State Corporation Commission (SCC) approves the 3a route and the lines come too close to her house.

Even if she is able to stay, she and her husband fear it could mean major property devaluation, with the tower looming over the house and trees cleared away from the cliffside.

“The house is going to be worthless, if they put a power line there. Because we want to live next to a power line?” Hu said, “And the whole reason we bought the house in Ashburn is because of the view, the nature, the wildlife.”

Dominion said they would assess the fair market value of the property they would need for the project and try to come to a deal with the impacted homeowners along that route. They do not plan to approach the owners unless 3a is selected.

“We would approach the resident and say we are requesting to negotiate with you on an easement on your property. That means the property is still yours, you still own it,” Robert Richardson, an electric transmissions communications consultant for Dominion, said. “An easement gives us certain rights and restricts the use of the property in certain ways.”

The Loudoun County School Board voted against two of the proposed routes that touch the grounds of the Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School and the high school, saying they wouldn’t approve unless the lines could be buried. Route 3a was then added to the proposal, which impacts Hu and her neighbor’s properties.

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to support route 4 that runs parallel to the high school. They also requested that no power lines be built within 500 feet of any residence or public school without being buried, but they have no enforcement authority.

In response to the board’s concerns, Dominion spokesperson Aisha Khan said a feasibility study was done on 500kv power lines being buried. The only other place in the country that has done a project like that is in California. There are several factors that make burying the lines in Ashburn impossible, Khan said, from acreage needed for the entry point into the earth for the lines, water supply, and other challenges.

“However, we think it’s the right thing to do. These houses, these neighborhoods were built prior to knowing we’re going to have these huge electrical power lines in our neighborhood,” said Kerry Canfield, a Loudoun Valley Estates resident. “All of Loudoun County needs to know what’s coming, and we need to push them to go underground.”

Many of Hu’s neighbors attended a Loudoun County School Board meeting on Tuesday. They wanted the school to play a role in the SCC case in order to gain details on the proposed routes and file comments in the case before the board rules on which route will be selected.

“We are concerned about the long-term safety, property values, not to mention the impact on our children. If these power lines are not good for the school property, it’s definitely not good for the residents. So we urge you to support us here by filing a notice of participation in the (SCC case),” Loudoun Valley Estates resident Ravishankar Krishnamoorthy said at the meeting.

Eight supervisors voted in favor of participating in the case, with one abstaining.

Richardson said they hope to talk with the school board again about the possibility of the two routes that touch their property.

“Route 3a is not our preferred route, 3 remains our preferred route. The problem with Route 3 is we can’t build Route 3 unless the school system says, ‘you can,’” Richardson said.

One of the proposed routes mostly runs along the Loudoun County Parkway. The board of supervisors voted against supporting that one because they did not want the power lines along the road. But the SCC could still select that route as the best option after hearing the case.

In a hallway outside the school board meeting, Hu said she feels her residential area is the easiest way for Dominion to get around the school and county concerns. Now her and her neighbors are stuck in limbo until the SCC decides which route is selected.

If the power lines are not built it will create a major energy gap for the data centers in the area. Dominion said there could be violations brought down by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection if they don’t supply the needed power by June 2028, the projected date that the project will come online.

“That’s where you would expect problems on the grid by that date if this project isn’t energized. If you’re providing too much, if you’re serving too much load with not enough transmission lines, you can damage equipment,” Richardson said.
”You can damage conductors. And so then, you start having other challenges with serving the greater region.”

There is a public hearing scheduled September 18 at Rock Ridge High School near Loudoun Valley Estates. The official SCC hearing where both sides will present their arguments for the project will be on Dec. 15.