Hampshire County Commission: Say no to transmission projects
It's exceedingly likely that request will be granted Wednesday, when the Monongalia County Commission takes up a resolution regarding the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link project.
In a letter dated July 15, the commissioners in Hampshire County say they're 'deeply concerned' with both the 500 kV MidAtlantic Resiliency Link (MARL) and 750 kV Valley Link projects and ask Monongalia County to help present a 'united front' before grid operator PJM Interconnection and the West Virginia Public Service Commission.
'We propose forming an informal coalition of affected counties and towns to share information, coordinate participation in regulatory proceedings and press for solutions that protect our property values, environment and quality of life,' the letter states.
MARL is a 105-mile stretch of high-voltage transmission lines that will run from Greene County, Pa. to Frederick County, Va. Up to 13 miles of that project could run through Monongalia County depending on the route selected. Other West Virginia counties in the potential path include Preston, Mineral, Hampshire and Jefferson.
The Valley Link project is a 261-mile high-voltage line that would run from Putnam County to Frederick County, Md. This project could impact more than a dozen counties in West Virginia, including Putnam, Kanawha, Roane, Calhoun, Braxton, Lewis, Upshur, Barbour, Tucker, Preston, Grant, Hardy, Hampshire and Jefferson.
As one of three counties that could potentially see both transmission projects clear a 200-foot swath through the local countryside, the Hampshire County Commission says it believes there are better alternatives than 'carving through untouched landscapes.'
One alternative, the letter explains, is the promotion of local power generation where the energy is actually needed.
'Hampshire County is deeply concerned that the 500 kV MARL project and the 765 kV Valley Link project would erect massive 160-foot transmission towers across our scenic ridges and valleys, primarily to carry electricity from generation in West Virginia and Pennsylvania to far-off data centers in Louden County, Virginia. These lines would impose significant burdens on our communities without providing any meaningful local benefit.'
The comments out of Hampshire County are very similar to those shared by commissioners here when they sat down with representatives from NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic earlier this month.
'I don't see the benefit we're getting in Mon County at all,' Commissioner Tom Bloom said. 'You have a job to do, but I don't like it on the backs of Mon County residents, and that's what I'm worried about.'
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