Impacted residents of the Valley Link Transmission Line project gathered at Goochland High School on May 28, sharing their grievances about the project and its impact on their county’s rural land.

Goochland is one of 8 other counties impacted by the 115-mile 765-kilovolt (kV) Joshua Falls to Yeat Transmission Line project that is planned to extend from Campbell to Culpeper County. The name of the project refers to the two endpoints, an existing electric substation in Campbell and a proposed new substation in Culpeper. Valley Link is a $1 billion joint venture between Dominion Energy, FirstEnergy Transmission and Transource with the stated goal to meet Virginia’s growing energy needs. Other impacted counties include Orange, Spotsylvania, Fluvanna, Buckingham, Appomattox, and Louisa County.

Updated routes were released on May 27. Routes that were initially proposed in March included 28 miles of options in Goochland. Now, the total impact to Goochland is 1.25 miles.

The Goochland Board of Supervisors (BoS), along with the Louisa BoS, have been vocal in their opposition to the project.

Both counties have adopted resolutions formally opposing the line and have also each appropriated $250,000 to support advocacy efforts against the project. In May, Fluvanna, Culpeper, Orange, Louisa, and Goochland submitted a filing to the Federal Energy Regulatory (FERC) Commission outlining their opposition and ultimately giving the impacted counties a seat at the table to voice concerns as the project goes through the approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). Valley Link will file an application with the SCC this fall and expects a final ruling in the fall of 2027.

Rob Richardson, an Electric Transmission Communications Consultant with Dominion Energy who addressed the Goochland BoS at the May 28 meeting, highlighted that as a power and energy company, they have to plan responsibly for energy demands that are coming in the near future as power demand in Virginia is forecasted to nearly double in the next decade.

“Much of the growth is being driven by continued economic development, population growth, especially the expansion of data centers across Virginia — as demand accelerates, the region will need a more robust, resilient electric grid capable of supporting both existing customers and future development,” Richardson said.

Richardson said the demand for power in Dominion’s territory continues to accelerate at a pace that exceeds historical expectations. He presented information that showed both summer and winter peak demands increasing steadily over the next decade and beyond, noting that actual winter peaks have consistently outperformed prior forecasts.

In 2022, Richardson said the winter peak exceeded projections by nearly 1,900 megawatts; 2023 came in at more than 500 megawatts, and in 2024, the peak exceeded expectations by 674 megawatts.

“Even last year, winter demand surpassed the forecasts by more than 1,300 megawatts,” Richardson said. “That’s a lot of power.”

PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator for over 65 million across 13 states including Virginia, greenlit the power line to address the massive surge in electricity demand. Richardson said PJM is taking a broader-long-term view when planning for future reliability needs and that one of the biggest drivers behind reliability concerns is the continued expansion of data center development beyond Northern Virginia.

But local residents in Goochland and Louisa have highlighted concerns with both the presence of high voltage power lines and the 135 to 160foot steel lattice structures that will encroach on their property with an approximately 200-foot right-of-way. Richardson said fewer than 75 homes along the entire 115-mile corridor are within 500 feet of each of the refined route alternatives and that they have reviewed approximately 15,000 miles of routing alternatives and documented more than 2,000 public comments over the course of their open houses.

Goochland County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley asked if the line is being proposed as a standalone project or if it is intended to function as a backbone.

Adam Maguire, manager of project development of electric transmission with Dominion, responded that the line is a backbone to support the rest of the electric grid, citing existing 500-kV Dominion lines that run eastwest through the county into Fluvanna that have already seen “fairly heavy loads.”

“It is likely at some point in the future that we would look to tie the 765-kv line to that 500-kv line to strengthen our existing backbone system…this project is designed to take pressure off those existing 500-kv lines,” Maguire said.

District 5 Goochland board member Jonathan Lyle asked that if the energy demand is in Northern Virginia, why is Dominion not putting generation capacity in those areas? Maguire responded that Dominion is putting generation capacity across the state, and that generation needs infrastructure.

Several board members inquired how Goochland residents can be assured that the lines currently proposed will not change. Lane Carr, who is overseeing the siting and permitting for the project, stated that the routes initially proposed in March are now expired. Carr explained that Shannon Hill, as a future growth area, was one of their anchor points when deciding on their routing options. The Shannon Hill Regional Business Park is home to the EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure data center campus in Louisa County.

“That was a routing opportunity for us,” Carr said. “If we can continue to route through those existing industrial areas, that’s what we’ll do.”

Several supervisors stated their support that the project’s impact in Goochland went from over 20 miles to just 1.25 miles of impact.

“I think we were all pretty well relieved a little bit that the new route is minimally impacting Goochland,” Winfree said, reiterating a need for assurance that this route would not significantly change. “It still is, but why would we take a foot off the throttle in our involvement in this issue?”

Carr said that Valley Link is “always seeking” to refine alternatives as they get closer to filing their application with the SCC, and that at this time, the route corridor through Goochland remains the one that best minimizes impacts, and that they will continue to attend and collect input at the June open houses. She said that she does not anticipate another route would impact Goochland County at a greater level.

Several board members asked if there was ever a possibility that the route would not cut through Central Virginia.

“While these lines are favorable to Goochland, Goochland does not stand alone,” District 2 Goochland board member Neil Spoonhower said. “We are a beautiful region…we care about our neighbors because they are a part of our region and a part of our community.”

Carr responded that one of the reasons why the transmission line is not parallel to route 29 is due to constraints like conservation easements in counties like Amherst, Nelson, and Albemarle.

“A lot of the existing 500-kv and 230-kv lines in our project area were built back in the ‘60s and ‘70s when you didn’t have a lot of constraints — you could build a straight transmission line,” Carr said. “We would love to do that [for the Joshua Falls to Yeat Transmission Line]. That would be our top priority if it were possible, but since the ‘60s and ‘70s, they’ve become highly encumbered with similar conservation easements, homes, neighborhoods, and businesses.”

Spoonhower asked for Valley Link to address the fairness of the issue, sharing a perception that wealthy companies are taking advantage of rural Virginians.

“I think there’s a general consensus that this is being built for data centers that aren’t near us, that we may get some benefit from ‘ChatGPTing’ — but we’re seeing rate increases,” Spoonhower said. “We’re seeing very wealthy companies standing on the backs of our citizens.”

Maguire responded it is Dominion’s responsibility to the Commonwealth and its customers to provide energy.

“We can’t ignore the load growth,” Maguire said. “We can’t ignore the reliability concerns on the grid. That’s our job to keep the lights on.”

To assuage concerns, Maguire noted several issues addressed in Dominion’s annual rate case in September in 2025. One plan was to create a new rate class for high-load customers, which are primarily data centers, Maguire said, which means it’s visible to see how much is being allocated toward that class of customers.

He also noted protections for residential customers when tech-giants sign their contracts regarding demand minimums.

“Let’s say [data centers] are asking for 100 megawatts — and they only use 50 megawatts — they’re going to pay for 100 megawatts whether they use it or not,” Maguire said. “That protects residential [customers] and the buildout of generation.”

There is also a 14-year protection plan, a mandatory contract that prevents residential customers from subsidizing the costs of new grid infrastructure. Maguire said if a data center leaves a service territory after only a few years, they will have to pay out the rest of their contract so costs are not shifted to other customers in the area.

Over 30 people addressed the Goochland BoS during public comment for an hour and 20 minutes. Several individuals ceded their speaking time so that prepared speakers could have more than three minutes to address the board.

Gum Spring resident Christie Payne was the first to speak.

“Over the last two months, citizens of Goochland have spent countless hours researching, organizing, attending meetings, studying maps, speaking with experts, documenting impacts, and trying to understand the true scope of the Valley Link Project,” Payne said. “Now, suddenly, the routes have changed drastically. Entire proposed corridors through Goochland appear reduced or removed from the latest maps. That alone tells us something important; citizen involvement matters, local governments speaking up matters, because billion-dollar utility companies do not dramatically redraw major transmission corridors unless something forced them to reconsider.”

Payne raised concerns about the starting point of the project and speculated that there may be a relocation.

“Many Virginians are asking whether communities like ours [are] being asked to sacrifice homes, farms, forests, history and private property’s rights to support unchecked growth elsewhere,” Payne said. “People are not angry simply because of a line on a map; people are angry because they feel the scope keeps growing while the explanation keeps shrinking… citizens deserve to understand how a project can continue moving forward as one approved transmission project while critical endpoint facilities remain unsettled, relocated, or subject to separate approval proceedings.”

Katrina Dalton, a Goochland resident in the northwestern part of the county, first thanked the Goochland board for listening to their constituents.

“To Valley Link, I am concerned because rural Virginia does not want to be the extension cord for Northern Virginia’s data centers,” Dalton said. “At an open house earlier this year, Valley Link representatives doggedly asserted that these lines are needed for the whole grid and this project isn’t ‘to power data centers,’ yet tonight, Mr. Richardson and others included data centers as the driving force for increasing Virginia’s power supply. Our grid is not overworked by family homes, apartment complexes, or mom and pop businesses; it’s overworked by the boom of data centers and their unquenchable thirst for power, water, and land.”

Louisa resident Amy Seay learned back in February that her family’s farm since the 1940’s in Fluvanna County could be impacted by this project.

“Then yesterday, updated route maps were released and now the home where I live in Louisa County is potentially impacted as well as the route has shifted closer to our property along with the highest populated gated community in Louisa County,” Seay said, referring to one of the two new routes and its proximity to Blue Ridge Shores. “Most people understand the need for reliable electricity; we understand that growth and infrastructure matter, but understanding the need for electricity does not mean rural communities should simply accept being the path of least resistance.”

Seay noted changes in the endpoints of the proposed project as well.

“At this time, even the Valley Link website shows shifting points, including changes to the starting point in Campbell County, with no clearly defined beginning or end to these routes…right now, what this project seems to be connecting most effectively is the growing number of people across these counties who are becoming united in opposition of it,” Seay said.

During the end of the meeting after public comment, District 3 board member Tom Winfree encouraged Valley Link to take a look at their messaging as rural residents continue to cite frustration with the project.

“You can’t equate families’ lives and their properties with dollars,” Winfree said. “What is in it [for rural residents] if anything? They’re sacrificing everything and see no benefit.”

During the June 1 Louisa County BoS meeting, two residents, Seay and Jerry Harlow, addressed the board during public comment sharing how the project could impact their family’s land. Jackson District Supervisor R.T. “Toni” Williams, Jr., who works in construction, shared that a new couple building a house in Louisa County recently found out that one of the proposed transmission line routes would essentially be in their front yard.

“Dominion used to be a really good corporate partner,” Williams said, noting that supervisors in Louisa are empathetic to impacted residents and that he doesn’t think they are any better informed than they are. “It doesn’t feel like they are really good anymore, it feels like they’re maybe ok…we’re going to keep staying engaged as a board and we’re going to work through this with our citizens doing the best we can on things we do not have control over and things we do not have knowledge of.”

Valley Link is holding multiple community open houses in June from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. On June 16, Goochland will have a meeting at the Goochland Sports Complex at 1800 Sandy Hook Road. On June 23, Louisa will have a meeting at the Betty Queen Center at 522 Industrial Drive. For the full list of open houses, go to https://vltransmission.com/joshuafalls- to-yeat/