Loudoun Now for Dec. 7, 2023

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n LOUDOUN

VOL. 9, NO. 4

4 | n LEESBURG

8 | n EDUCATION

10 | n OBITUARIES

19| n LEGAL NOTICES

We’ve got you covered. In the mail weekly. Online always at LoudounNow.com

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DECEMBER 7, 2023

Community Members Bring Power Line Objections to PJM BY HANNA PAMPALONI

hpampaloni@loudounnow.com

As the PJM Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee assembled Tuesday in Audubon, PA, to review the next round of proposed regional power lines, its members were presented with more than 250 letters from area resident raising concerns about plans for a 500 kV transmission line that would cross western Loudoun from West Virginia to Leesburg. The proposal is among the responses to PJM opening a bidding window soliciting solutions to a growing power demand within its 13-state region. Tuesday’s meeting also was attended by several Loudoun residents virtually and some in

person to ask representatives questions about the project and further voice their opposition. PJM representatives said that they had seen unprecedented data center load growth between 2021 and 2022 in Northern Virginia and Doubs, MD. However, in addition to that, they said that there were other factors contributing to the need, as well. “There’s a lot of other stuff we’re tackling with this window: the loss of 11,000 megawatts of generation and the addition of solar in its place. That right there is an element of the energy transmission—fossil’s retiring and solar is coming. They’re not one-for-one,” a PJM representative said. Senior Vice President of Planning at PJM Kenneth Seiler

assured listeners that the routes for the transmission lines were not established yet, and if the PJM board approved the project, one of the next steps would be a routing study that would provide residents more opportunities to express concerns and suggest alternative routes. “We are required to serve the 65 million people throughout our footprint reliably,” he said. He also said that the routes would be up to the transmission developers to construct. Florida-based NextEra Energy is the developer proposing the line through western Loudoun. Delegate-elect Geary Higgins (R-30) attended the meeting POWER LINE OBJECTIONS continues on page 40

Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now

There’s No Place like Loudoun for the Holidays Holiday festivities are underway around the county as Hamilton, Leesburg, Lovettsville, Middleburg and Purcellville held tree lightings and parades over the weekend to jumpstart the holiday spirit. Residents gathered to sing carols, take part in lantern parades, cheer for parade walkers and sip hot beverages while lighting up their town Christmas trees.

Western County Residents Prepare for Long Power Line Fight BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.com

It was standing room only at the Hillsboro Old Stone School on Nov. 30 as members of the Piedmont Environmental Council gathered with concerned county residents to talk about the proposed plans to build 500-kV

transmission lines through western Loudoun. The event was also attended by the representatives of the Waterford Foundation and the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, state Senator-elect Russet Perry, aides for Delegate-elect Geary Higgins and several county supervisors.

PJM Interconnection, the regional power transmission coordinator, in February opened a window this year to accept proposals on how to meet the growing need for power in Northern Virginia that has stemmed from rapid data center growth. Included among 72 proposals submitted for review by PJM’s

Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee was the 500-kV line that would diagonally across western Loudoun between West Virginia and Leesburg. “[PJM] explained that this is unprecedented, the amount of energy that they would need to provide over a very short window of time,” PEC Director of

Land Use Julie Bolthouse said. Bolthouse told the audience that the proposal presents a host of concerns for residents including environmental impacts, electricity rate costs, viewshed impacts and agritourism disruption. RESIDENTS PREPARE continues on page 40

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