Loudoun County Votes To Officially Oppose Valley North Transmission Line

ASHBURN, VA – The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is officially opposing the Valley North transmission line after a unanimous vote on a resolution to that effect Tuesday.

The 765-kV Valley North line would span 260 miles, from Putnam County, WV, to Frederick County, MD, crossing about 31 miles in Virginia, according to the Protect Frederick organization. It is a project of PJM, which coordinates the transmission of electricity across 13 states, and is being developed through a partnership between Dominion Energy, Transource and FirstEnergy Transmission.

Community groups in Lovettsville, which is in the path of the transmission line, have been organizing in opposition to the project, as have groups in other states and counties.

Loudoun Now reports that Frederick County (VA) supervisors approved a resolution opposing the line in July and authorized the county attorney to retain legal counsel to help. In August, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors adopted resolutions opposing the line and announced that it had retained counsel to support its efforts. Now, Loudoun is formally opposing the line and will participate in the case before the State Corporation Commission, Virginia’s utility regulator, though ultimately, the decision rests with the SCC. The outlet notes that Valley Link has not yet filed an application for the project with the regulator.