By West Virginia Highlands Conservancy Board 

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy opposes construction of the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link and Valley North transmission lines through West Virginia and the greater Highlands region. 

These enormous transmission projects would impose lasting costs on West Virginia’s forests, waterways, communities, and electric customers. Much of the demand driving these proposed projects comes from the rapid expansion of data centers in Northern Virginia, yet West Virginians would bear a significant share of their physical, environmental and financial burdens. 

WVHC calls upon the West Virginia Public Service Commission and other state and federal decision-makers to reject the projects and require full and transparent consideration of less damaging alternatives.  

Basis for our opposition: 

• Data center growth and climate pollution: The projects are being driven largely by rapidly growing electricity demand from Northern Virginia data centers. Expanding the capacity to move power from a grid still heavily dependent on coal and natural gas could prolong fossil fuel use and increase climate and air pollution at a time when reducing emissions is paramount. 

• Permanent damage to the Highlands: Towers reaching roughly 150 to 175 feet and 200 feet wide, continuously maintained corridors would permanently industrialize some of West Virginia’s most scenic landscapes, forever degrading land and creating lasting visual impacts. 

• Forest fragmentation and water resources: The projects would clear hundreds of miles of new rights of way through forests, farms, streams and wetlands. This would fragment wildlife habitat, disturb steep and erodible soils, and threaten streams that supply drinking water and support native aquatic life. 

• Unfair costs for West Virginia ratepayers: West Virginians could be required to help pay for transmission infrastructure driven largely by out-of-state data center development. Any claimed regional benefits must be weighed against decades of increased ratepayer costs and permanent harm to our land and communities.  

• Noise and quality of life impacts: Construction, maintenance, access roads and high-voltage transmission noise would bring lasting disruption to previously quiet rural communities.  

• Threatens homeowners and landowners through eminent domain seizure: The proposed routes threaten homes, forests and family lands. If approved, project developers could seek easements through eminent domain when agreements with landowners cannot be reached. 

Background:  

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy has a long history of staunch opposition to large scale projects that would degrade and destroy the environment and natural beauty of the Highlands. Those opposition efforts go as far back as the original opposition to Corridor H, the saving of Canaan Valley from the Davis Power Project, up to the current fights against a data center in Tucker County and the PATH (Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline) transmission line. 

In the early 2000s, PATH was also presented as an urgently needed regional transmission project. WVHC joined landowners, community organizations and the Sierra Club in questioning its need and challenging its environmental and economic costs. PJM later terminated PATH and removed it from its regional transmission plan after changing demand forecasts and updated analyses no longer supported it.  

The 500kV Mid-Atlantic Reliability Link (MARL) will run a total of 105 miles, mostly through West Virginia, including Monongalia, Preston, Hampshire, Mineral and Jefferson Counties. The 765kV Valley Link transmission line will run 261 miles through 20 West Virginia Counties including Grant and Tucker Counties. Each will have a 200-foot wide right of way path bulldozed through forests, farms and home sites. The towers will be anywhere from 150 to almost 200 feet high and spaced about ¼ mile apart.  

The purpose of these new transmission lines is to provide energy from West Virginia’s coal burning power plants to power hungry data centers in northern Virginia. 

Bi-partisan opposition has arisen from across the state to oppose these transmission lines.  These lines will provide no benefits to the citizens of West Virginia and permanently disfigure the environment and beauty of the state. Already at least 12 County Commissions have signed resolutions in opposition to the Valley Link project, including Tucker County. The West Virginia Public Service Commission staff has recommended that the MARL project be paused or dismissed. 

WVHC Commitments: 

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy will: 

• Oppose regulatory approval of Valley North and MARL as currently proposed; 

• Participate in relevant state and federal regulatory proceedings when appropriate and consistent with WVHC’s resources; 

• Advocate for thorough environmental review and meaningful consideration of less damaging alternatives; 

• Support landowners and communities seeking accurate information and a meaningful voice in the process; 

• Work with local governments, conservation organizations and community groups along the proposed corridors; 

• Oppose the use of eminent domain for projects whose need, public benefits and alternatives have not been adequately demonstrated