LCPS To Hold Special Meeting On Golden To Mars Power Line Route

ASHBURN, VA – The Loudoun County School Board has announced a special meeting set for July 13 to discuss the recent request by the county Board of Supervisors that the school system authorize the use of school property for the Golden to Mars transmission line.

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors recently asked the school system to consider allowing its land to be used for Dominion Energy’s proposed Golden to Mars transmission line. The exact route of the new transmission line, to be supported by monopoles in excess of 150 feet, has been a source of contention, as residents argued that Dominion Energy should more seriously explore burying the new lines.

The Loudoun County School Board has so far blocked proposed routes that would have crossed its property. However, the State Corporation Commission, Virginia’s utility regulator, recently ruled that the project can go ahead following what it concluded is a “clearly inferior” route in terms of local disruption, but which avoided school property.

Now, the county is asking the school board to consider allowing other routes that would cross school property. “If the School Board approves the use of some LCPS property, the SCC could amend its order to authorize Route 3B or Route 4, both of which have broadly been considered by many stakeholders—including Loudoun County—to be preferred routes over Route 3A,” the county wrote in a June 30 release.

In the school board’s announcement, it wrote that it “has not made a final determination regarding the proposed transmission line routes that could affect School Board property. The Board believes it is important to come together publicly to hear from the community, discuss the issue and consider next steps before taking any action.”

Ashburn residents were given some hope in their effort to get Dominion to bury the lines when Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger this spring signed into law a bill allowing for four pilot projects to build electrical transmission lines of 500 kilovolts underground and authorizing the SCC to approve and expedite the review of such applications.

However, so far, nothing has been published suggesting Golden to Mars could become one such project.

The meeting will be held on July 13 at 5:30 p.m. at Rock Ridge High School, 43460 Loudoun Reserve Drive in Ashburn. The meeting will also be livestreamed. More information about how to join can be found here.