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Simulation by Hugh Kenny/PEC.
Dear Supporter,
Unregulated data center growth impacts areas even where it’s unlikely a data center will go. This is the case with the Southwest Mountains, where Dominion Energy has proposed to wreck, rebuild and expand the Charlottesville-Gordonsville transmission line — directly driven by the 26 data center requests in Louisa and Culpeper counties that Dominion has received over the last five years.
As we said at our community meeting last month, there are two ways you can weigh in today: by submitting comments to the State Corporation Commission and by requesting a public hearing. Read on for more details.
Charlottesville-Gordonsville 230 kV Expansion Details
Dominion Energy’s proposal is to wreck, rebuild, and expand 15.8 miles of the existing single-circuit 230 kV transmission line between Dominion’s Charlottesville and Gordonsville substations as a double-circuit 230 kV transmission line.
This project proposes massive steel towers approximately two to three times the height of the existing wood structures through the Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District and residential neighborhoods in the Pantops area. It also likely exceeds the scope of Dominion Energy’s existing utility easements, which may be unlawful.
Take Action
On April 23, Dominion Energy submitted its application and supporting documentation to the SCC, which will review and certify this transmission line project (Case No. PUR-2026-00050). PEC is advocating for a full consideration of alternatives and mitigation impacts, including undergrounding portions of the line, using the lowest feasible towers that are constructed with a dull brown weathering steel to decrease visibility, minimizing disturbance during construction, avoiding direct impacts to residential neighborhoods and mitigating adverse impacts to cultural and natural resources and residential neighborhoods in cases where impacts cannot be avoided and establishing enforceable limits on future expansion.
Two ways to voice your opinion on or before July 8
- Send comments to the SCC:
- Online: Instructions on the Commission’s webpage
- By Mail: Send your written comments to
Clerk of the State Corporation Commission,
℅ Document Control Center
P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118 - PEC’s Sample Public Comment letter →
- Request the SCC convene a public hearing:
- Request for a public hearing in writing. Your request must include:
- a precise statement of the filing party’s interest in the proceeding;
- a statement of the specific action sought to the extent then known;
- a statement of the legal basis for such action; and
- a precise statement why a hearing should be conducted in this matter.
- By Mail: Send your written comments to
Clerk of the State Corporation Commission,
℅ Document Control Center
P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118 - PEC’s Sample Request for Public Hearing →
- Request for a public hearing in writing. Your request must include:
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 and 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.
Dominion is framing this transmission line upgrade as necessary for “reliability,” but reliability is only threatened when the utility adds the increased energy demand from data centers to the system by the in-service dates they’ve arbitrarily committed to. This is the crisis by contract situation and the reason we need a pause on data center approvals in the state.
Thank you!
Rob McGinnis, PLA FASLA
Senior Land Use Field Representative
Albemarle & Greene Counties
[email protected]
(434) 962-9110
