More than 50 people turned out at a Kanawha County Commission meeting on Thursday to spend 90 minutes airing their views on the proposed 260-mile, 765-kilovolt Valley North power line project that would extend from the coal-fired John Amos Power Plant near Poca in Putnam County to Frederick County, Maryland.
Nearly all of the speakers voiced opposition to the project, sought by PJM Interconnection LLC, operator of the power grid serving 13 states, including West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia. While the exact alignment of the route is yet to be determined, the line would cross through parts of 20 West Virginia counties, including a slice of northern Kanawha County — in the general area of Sissonville-Aarons Fork — before entering Roane County and extending northeastward.
If completed, the Valley North power line “would strengthen the backbone of region’s electric transmission grid, ensuring reliability and enabling economic growth,†according to a statement from Valley Link, a coalition of energy and power transmission companies formed to develop the Valley North project for PJM.
Valley Link spokesperson Alex Weld, who gave a presentation during Thursday’s meeting on the project’s goals and the processes involved in achieving them, said her company would hold a new round of open house meetings in November, to give those in affected areas “a better idea of where the lines might be located.â€
Weld said the Valley North project is expected to be submitted to the state Public Service Commission to begin its approval process early next year. A preferred route and several alternative routes for the proposed power line are expected to be finalized in 2027, and if no major planning obstacles are encountered, construction is projected to start in 2029, she said.
In response to questions, Weld said it may be possible — where practicable — to route the new power line along the rights-of-way of existing lines. She also said Valley North, “can use eminent domain, if need be,†to acquire access to land owned by property holders unwilling to sell, “but that’s not something you ever want to do.â€
So far, about 6,500 people have attended open house events sponsored by Valley North in West Virginia counties that lie in the path of the proposed power line, Weld said. In Kanawha County, an open house on the project was held at Sissonville Middle School on July 26.
Immediately prior to opening the public comment session, Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango reminded those attending that county commissions in West Virginia have no say in whether or how a power line or pipeline should be sited in their counties. “Those decisions will be made by the West Virginia Public Service Commission,†he said.
But a number of speakers commenting on the power line on Thursday urged the Kanawha County Commission to join the ranks of 12 other West Virginia county commissions along the route of the proposed power line and pass a resolution opposing the project.
Salango and fellow commissioner Natalie Tennant said they would take that suggestion under advisement but not take a public stance on the issue until they learned more about the project.
What they said
Speakers at Thursday’s meeting included Kanawha County resident Jodi Urbanic, who grew up on a family farm near Chloe in Calhoun County, who said she was “concerned about air quality from John Amos ramping up its production†to feed the grid through “power lines using the highest-allowable voltage,†and wondered how much power bills would rise to pay for the new infrastructure.
Elkview area resident Chip Sovick said he retired to his 127-acre farm “to live in a place where I want to be living,†and not to have a 765-kilovolt power line with a 200-foot-wide right-of-way bisecting his property and passing 120 to 150 feet away from home, according to one tentative alignment, he said.
“Why is it our fault states like Maryland and Virginia, who need the power, don’t want to build power plants?†he said.
Sovick’s neighbor, Doug Stalnaker, who said one proposed routing of the power line would pass within 150 feet of his home on his ridgetop farm, voiced concerns about herbicides being used to maintain Valley North’s 200-foot right-of-way.
Danny Morgan of Sissonville, whose property lies within 500 feet of one proposed power line alignment, said Valley North’s plan was a new example of “West Virginians, for generations, being asked to sacrifice land, resources — even people — in return for promises that it will pay off for them someday.â€
Morgan observed that John Amos power plant is currently scheduled for decommissioning by American Electric Power in 2040. “What happens to this project after that?â€
Shane Wolfe, business manager of Huntington-based Local 317 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, spoke in favor of the project, citing high-paying jobs for West Virginia construction workers, and an enhanced grid that could attract new manufacturing plants to the area.
“I appreciate everyone coming out to speak,†Salango said at the end of the meeting. “We’ll be paying attention to this project as it moves forward.â€
CLICK HERE to follow the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail and receive
