CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — A Jefferson County group against the 260-mile Valley Link transmission line project, proposed to go from the John Amos Power Plant in Putnam County northeast across West Virginia and into Virginia, is now armed with research results.
Dan McGinn, a Jefferson County resident who leads a volunteer coalition of farmers and residents opposed to the Valley Link, said they recently partnered with Rex Repass and Research America to conduct a poll. McGinn said it found 70% of respondents being against the proposed project.
McGinn said Valley Link does not have a public relations problem it has a substance problem.
“They are going to bulldoze through West Virginia, over 6,000 acres, they are going to build the most powerful power line in the country, not for West Virginia but for Loudon County (VA),” McGinn told the Panhandle News Network.
McGinn said his group has an uphill battle.
“We’re just a group of neighbors and farmers, regular folks in Jefferson County, we’re taking on a coalition of four multi-billion dollar utility companies who formed a group to create Valley Link, so you can’t have a great David and Goliath than this,” McGinn said.
He said they had the Repass poll down to show the breadth and depth of views.
“As the poll shows, people are passionately against Valley Link,” McGinn said.
Repass said, “The only potentially encouraging fact in the poll for Valley Link is that awareness of the project is still moderately low. Just less than 40% of residents say they know little or nothing about the proposed power line. Only 8% express strong support.”
“At present, there is a moderate level of knowledge about the specifics of the plan, but as the public becomes more aware of the costs, their views become decisively, and resolutely negative,” he added. “Damaging farms, threatening historic properties, and increasing electric bills, are widely seen as unacceptable consequences by residents in the impacted counties,”
Repass said the survey was conducted among adults aged 18 plus residing in one of 20 counties where the Valley Link Transmission Line project is planned.
Valley Link has yet to choose a path. Project spokesperson Alex Weld told the Kanawha County Commission in August route planners are reviewing thousands of comments that people left at open houses held this past summer.
“Analyzing the feedback that we have collected throughout these 23 open houses,” Weld said. “We come back in November, with a second round of public open houses, with more information, with potential route alternatives; a clear understanding of where routing might happen.”
Weld said Valley Link will likely decide on a route next year.
“In early-to-mid 2027, we have a ‘propose an alternative route’ that we will take to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, as well as those similar entities in Virginia and Maryland to move that process forward,” Weld said. “They are the ultimate deciders on the project.”
Meanwhile, Monday night’s agenda for the Charles Town Council meeting lists a resolution opposing both the MARL and Valley Link North transmission line projects.
Council members are also scheduled to take up Good Neighbor Data Center Guardrails proposal.
The Data Center Guardrails final draft was put together in a meeting last week by the Jefferson County Commission and representatives of all of the county’s local municipalities.
The goal of last week’s meeting was to hear from residents and discuss “local considerations that may help inform future conversations surrounding data center development” including topics such as water and power use, transmission infrastructure, roads and transportation, emergency services, land use, noise and lighting, environmental impacts, housing and workforce needs, fiscal impacts, public participation, decommissioning, and community benefits.
Charles Town Council meets beginning at 7 p.m. Monday.
The Panhandle News Network contributed to this story.