Four-state coalition urging residents to get familiar with MARL

Dominion Post

15-05-2025

MORGANTOWN — A four-state coalition is urging residents of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia to become familiar with the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link project – a 105-mile 'major highway' of overhead transmission lines stretching from Greene County, Pa. to Frederick County, Va.
The project – MARL for short – is to be built by NextEra Energy by fall of 2031.
NextEra Energy Transmission Senior Director Kaitlin McCormick has described the 500-kv line as 'one of the big, major transmission lines,' requiring a 200-foot right of way along its entire length.
While the exact route of the project has yet to be announced, both Monongalia and Preston counties are in the path of at least one option.
During a December meeting with the Monongalia County Commission, McCormick described the study area for the to-be-determined route as, 'a small component in Pennsylvania, then we'll be crossing through West Virginia, into Maryland, back into West Virginia and then ending in Virginia.'
PJM Interconnection manages the electrical transmission system for a 13-state region that runs from Michigan to Tennessee, and from Illinois to Delaware. West Virginia is included in that region. So is the Washington D.C. area, for which PJM is predicting a dramatic increase in the number of power-hungry data centers coming online.
Data centers are facilities that house computer systems and related equipment used to store, process and distribute data and applications. In other words, these facilities are the backbone that support our modern, digitally-connected lives.
And they require a lot of juice.
This is one of the major points watchdog groups want people to be aware of – the power lines might run through your community, or even your property, but that doesn't mean you'll be plugged in.
Mark Stutzman is the communications director for Engage Mountain Maryland, one of the groups responsible for pulling together the larger, multistate PowerUP For Our Future.
'A lot of people don't understand the enormity of the power that these data centers use,' he said, explaining the nearly 200 facilities in Loudoun County, Virginia's 'Data Center Alley' pulls as much power as two million homes.
'So, think of this project basically as a massive extension cord that's hooking [data centers] up to Pennsylvania power plants. Marylanders, for example, won't benefit from any of this power,' he said. 'These companies, like NextEra, calculate what they're going to charge their customers to cover the cost of building the project. So, it's really quite insidious what's happening, because you would think the customers should be benefiting by this, and they're actually not. The only people benefiting are with the data centers in Northern Virginia … Ultimately, we, the customers, are the ones footing the bill for all of it. I don't think a lot of people realize that.'
NextEra refutes that claim, stating the MARL will not only help ensure the reliable delivery of electricity across the PJM region, but spur job opportunities and investment in local economies.
For individuals – particularly those notified by postcard earlier this year that their properties may be impacted – the questions are more about what happens if your land is in the chosen path? Will eminent domain be invoked if you don't give the company an easement?
That was one of the first questions that formed in Rachel Stevens' mind when she received such a postcard back in February.
She lives on 13 wooded acres just north of Bruceton Mills, on the West Virginia / Pennsylvania line.
While the Stevens family has since learned their property likely won't be distrubed, one or more of their neighbors are still very much up in the air.
'People live here because they want a quieter life. They love nature. They love hunting, fishing and recreation,' she said. 'I just want people to know what their rights are as landowners. I'm upset for them because the majority I've spoken to don't want this on their land. I've been trying to spread the word because a lot of folks don't know. Even the folks who got postcards, some of them ignored them initially. But this is important because it will be no small impact to their lives if this goes through.'
For additional information, check out nexteraenergytransmission.com and powerupforourfuture.org.