Opposition to Coal-by-Wire Transmission
Utilities have proposed two unnecessary high-voltage transmission lines that would connect to the oldest and dirtiest coal-fired generation in the United States. TrAIL is a 500-kV Dominion/Allegheny project. PATH is a 765-kV AEP/Allegheny project.
The power companies have filed for the PATH line in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
Governors from 10 East Coast states, including Virginia, signed on to a letter of opposition to the various House & Senate transmission bills. The governors call for investment in off-shore wind and local renewable generation.
PEC map shows American Electric Power's conceptual transmission line plan for wind, overlaid instead on U.S. coal resources.
Read the latest Energy & Transmission alert to find out more about the TrAIL line appeals (including PEC's Virginia Supreme Court Appeal), as well as the current push for federal authority over transmission line planning and siting.
The Wall Street Journal, PJM Interconnection and even the Department of Energy all show flat-lining electricity demand this year. Next year DOE expects demand to decrease. (posted Dec. 2008)
The PATH 765-kV transmission line is a partnership between American Electric Power and Allegheny Power. The line would start near the Amos coal plant in West Virginia, travel northeast and pass through parts of Maryland and Virginia.
TrAIL is a transmission line proposed by Dominion Power and an Allegheny Power subsidiary, TrAILCo. The line would run from southwest Pennsylvania, through West Virginia, and end up in Loudoun County, Virginia.
In December 2007, Piedmont Environmental Council submitted the testimony of nine expert witnesses to the VA State Corporation Commission. These witnesses outline the many reasons the TrAIL line should have been denied.
Resources on this flawed Department of Energy designation.
Coverage from local and national media.
Read past articles, postings, reports related to transmission lines -- the TrAIL line in particular.
