Virginia has one last chance this year to pump the brakes on an unprecedented data center expansion that is overwhelming the state’s electric grid — and its communities.
Transmission
The Piedmont Environmental Council has some experience dealing with Dominion and transmission line proposals through our region. In 2006 and 2008, utilities proposed two unnecessary high-voltage transmission lines that would connect to the oldest and dirtiest coal-fired generation in the United States. Learn more about the TrAIL line (approved and built) and the PATH line (turned down). More recently, a series of projects has been proposed, each with its own set of details and impacts.
Joshua Falls-Yeat 765 kV Transmission Line Update
Next steps for the Joshua Falls-Yeat 765 kV transmission line project, including a list of community meetings you can attend in June, an opportunity for public comment, and what actions communities have taken.
Expanded Transmission Line Planned for Southwest Mountains
This text was taken from an email alert sent out on May 12 2026. Sign up for email alerts →
Dear Supporter,
The Southwest Mountains have long been a priority for The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) because of their layers of natural, cultural and historical significance. As data center-fueled infrastructure threatens this area’s unique communities and landscapes, we invite you to a community meeting Wednesday, May 13 to learn more about the proposed Charlottesville-Gordonsville transmission line and how you can make your voice heard.
Charlottesville-Gordonsville Community Meeting
Wednesday, May 13 @ 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Keswick Hunt Club, 626 Hunt Club Road, Keswick
Dominion Energy’s proposal is to wreck and rebuild 20 miles of existing single-circuit 230 kV transmission line between Dominion’s Charlottesville and Gordonsville substations as a double-circuit 230 kV transmission line. This will significantly increase the size of the line and potentially expand the right of way through the Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District and neighborhoods in the Pantops area.
Dominion is framing the upgrade as necessary for “reliability,” but it, and other energy infrastructure expansion across the state, is largely being driven by increased energy demand from data centers.
PEC’s Involvement
Across our nine-county region, PEC is leading the effort to mitigate data center infrastructure projects. Including the Charlottesville-Gordonsville line, we are engaged in 6 transmission projects, more than at any other moment in our history. Understanding the impact of these intensive projects on communities, we are allocating extensive resources to monitor local, state, regional, and federal forums where prospective transmission line projects are proposed and pursued. Our goal is to ensure communities get information about what’s coming and are equipped with information to weigh in knowledgeably about projects throughout the process.
PEC is engaging on this project in several ways:
- In conversations with Dominion Energy and community members, we are advocating for full consideration of alternatives and mitigation of impacts such as:
- undergrounding portions of the line,
- minimizing heights while staying within the existing right of way,
- better design of towers that blend in to setting,
- minimal disturbance during construction, and
- establishing enforceable limits on future expansion.
- Participating in the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) hearing before the SCC.
- Encouraging submission of comments about the line and impacts on communities and properties to the SCC — we need you!
- We anticipate this project to file with the State Corporation Commission any day now.
At the community meeting Wednesday, May 13 PEC staff will present about the Charlottesville-Gordonsville project, how it fits into a broader data-center driven movement, and what you can do about it. RSVP →
Why This Project Matters
Transmission line projects, even those limited to existing rights-of-way, can cause visual impacts from taller towers and poor siting or design selection, construction impacts to nearby rivers, streams, wetlands, and impacts to sensitive ecosystems that support biodiversity, and visual and construction impacts to cultural resources, including archaeological and historical sites, historic buildings and structures and cultural landscapes.
This Charlottesville-Gordonsville project cuts through scores of permanently conserved parcels, the Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District and falls within the Monticello Viewshed Protection Area and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, and is proximate the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway along State Routes 22 and 231.
In addition to being highly valued nationally-significant resources, their preservation directly contributes to our region’s tourism industry, which depends heavily on protecting the area’s historic and scenic landscapes — valued at nearly $1 billion annually.
Hope to see you there,
Chris Miller
President
[email protected]
540-347-2334 x7100
Page-Sperryville Transmission Line Upgrade: What You Should Know
Regional utility provider FirstEnergy is proposing to rebuild the roughly 14-mile-long, 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line stretching from Luray in Page County to Sperryville in Rappahannock County. Known as the Page-Sperryville Transmission Line Project, it has a target completion date of 2028.
Spring Orange County Updates
The Piedmont Environmental Council’s updates on the Valley Link transmission line, the Town of Orange’s data center changes, data center lawsuit updates, and an April 10 conservation event. Get updates at pecva.org/signup.
It’s Time to End Data Centers’ Massive Tax Break
Take Action: Tell your Legislators and the Governor to End the Data Center Tax Subsidy by April 23, 2026.
Culpeper Update: More Power Infrastructure Headed Our Way
As this year’s legislative session winds down, I want to take the opportunity to let you know about a few important developments in Culpeper County and encourage you to attend/weigh in and keep on the lookout for more to come.
Update: Rappahannock County Planning Commission Recommends Adoption of New Regulations for Electrical Substations
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, the Rappahannock County Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposed update of the county code of ordinances to require a special exception for new or expanded electrical substations.
An Electric Super-Highway Through the Piedmont
Joining the list of new energy and infrastructure proposals across the state to serve sky-rocketing data center demand is a proposal to build the largest transmission line ever seen in Dominion Energy’s territory. Dubbed “Joshua Falls-Yeat,” the 115-mile, 765 kilovolt transmission line would cross as many as nine counties in central Virginia.
Demanding Answers from FirstEnergy: Impacts of Page-Sperryville Transmission Line Upgrade Project
FirstEnergy has proposed to “wreck and rebuild” the Page-Sperryville Transmission Line Rebuild Project. We are very concerned that without accurate and detailed information about the project, neither the public nor the county government can ask informed questions.