MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission approved a resolution Wednesday officially opposing the proposed NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Resiliency Link known as MARL.
The 105-mile high-voltage power line is proposed to go from Greene County, Pennsylvania to Frederick County, Virginia via West Virginia. It would supply power to a data center in Frederick County.
Monongalia County commissioners expressed support for the Hampshire County Commission’s opposition to the project. Commissioner Sean Sikora suggested that both bodies jointly intervene in the case before the state Public Service Commission.
“I’m not saying we’re going to go it alone but I would suggest this group would do that which would give us a seat at the table as the hearing progresses at the Public Service Commission,” Sikora said.
Monongalia County Commission President Jeff Arnett said he has not received any positive feedback from the community regarding the project which would pass through portions of Monongalia and Preston counties. Arnett added that while the project would benefit the data center and NextEra Energy Transmission, it would come at a significant cost to the people of West Virginia.
“It’s pretty simple- they want to shove this thing down our throat and say oh by the way you also get to pay for it and you don’t get benefit from it,” Arnett said. “It’s a no brainer, we’ve heard from both sides of the aisle- this is the most one-sided thing I’ve been apart with the commission.”
The line would carve a 200-foot-wide swath on its path through the Mountain State with an additional 100 feet on either side of the right-of-way rendered unusable. Sikora said the commission carefully considered input from both NextEra Energy Transmission representatives and local residents, ultimately deciding to side with property owners.
“We as West Virginians have done a lot for this region and we’ve already done our fair share, to be forced to accept this project without any benefit to our citizens while extremely impacting our citizens isn’t something this commission can stand for,” Sikora said.
Delegate David McCormick, R-Monongalia, has also met with representatives from NextEra and members of the community and he too opposes the project. McCormick suggested there may be support from Charleston in the effort to fight the proposed development.
“They’re the largest energy transmission company in the world and this is going to a battle,” McCormick said. “I feel like with everybody pulling the rope in the same direction in Charleston and here with the county commission hopefully we can make a difference.”
In addition to Monongalia County, the commissions in Preston and Hampshire Counties also oppose the project and plan to take action against it. Opponents note that the proposal would circumvent House Bill 2014, which allows microgrids powered by coal and natural gas to be built to serve data centers. They emphasize that West Virginia has ample resources and would welcome construction of the data center within the state’s borders.
“We just don’t see a benefit to running this line across our state, across our beautiful county and not providing us any benefit,” Sikora said. “It’s solving a problem but it’s not our problem.”