Dominion Virginia Power Studying Alternate
Routes For Northern Virginia Transmission Line
One Alternative Places
Line Along Interstate 66
Second Alternative Sends Line Along Existing
Corridors
Another Possibility Buries Line Within Study
Area
RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion Virginia Power is studying
at least three alternate routes for a 40-mile, 500,000-volt transmission
line in Northern Virginia, the company announced Tuesday.
"These alternatives
are a direct result of our conversations with the people who came to our workshops
last fall and continue to contact us," said
Paul D. Koonce, chief executive officer, Dominion Energy. "We have
also been meeting with various groups and officials to explain the need for
the line. All of these alternatives have their challenges, but they are
worth studying alongside the planned route segments we displayed at the workshops.
"While
the alternatives are new, what has not changed is the critical need for an
additional pathway for electricity into Northern Virginia. Virginia
cannot afford to have its electrical network become like the region’s
highway system — a bumper-to-bumper mess. Problems on that system
lead to hours stuck in traffic jams. On an electrical transmission system,
they lead to blackouts."
Dominion will continue to study all options and routes,
including those presented at the workshops, in preparation for filing its SCC
application in April. The
company will present a preferred route as well as potential alternatives. The
SCC has the ultimate responsibility to certify the need and choose the route.
Electrical
demand in Northern Virginia has grown by about 40 percent over the last decade. PJM
Interconnection recently cited Dominion as having the fastest growing demand
for electricity at peak times among any of the PJM regions across 13 states. PJM
likened the increase in demand on the Dominion system to adding approximately
1 million new houses over the next five years.
Without this power line, the
company faces an increasing risk of having to use "rolling blackouts" to
keep the Northern Virginia portion of our system stable as early as the summer
of 2011.
The three alternates being studied along with the route segments
shown at the workshops are:
A route along Interstate 66.
A longer route — approximately
60 miles — along existing
transmission corridors.
An underground route in Frederick, Fauquier, Loudoun
and Prince William counties.
The I-66 Alternative
In the I-66 alternative, the transmission
line would leave the Meadow Brook substation on an existing transmission corridor
to join the interstate near Front Royal. The transmission line would
be co-located with the interstate or along outer easements until nearing Manassas
Battlefield Park. This
route would alleviate many private, historical and cultural landowner concerns. Moreover,
this route would provide the long-term solution the company seeks and at approximately
the same cost to customers.
Because of electrical and traffic safety concerns,
the transmission towers would be slightly taller than the ones planned for
the overhead routes shown at the workshops. Dominion has had preliminary
discussions with the Virginia Department of Transportation, which also would
have to grant its approval before construction if the SCC selects this route.
The
Existing Corridor Alternative
In this alternate route, the transmission
line would exit the Meadow Brook substation on an existing transmission line
corridor, running south to the Morrisville substation in southern Fauquier
County near the company’s
Remington Power Station. From there, the line would be built north along
another existing transmission corridor, passing next to Manassas Battlefield
Park and traveling farther north to the Loudoun substation.
The route is longer — about
68 miles compared to about 40 miles for the overhead segments shown at the
workshops — and more expensive — an
estimated $210 million vs. $150 million. Moreover, this route would guarantee
reliability in Northern Virginia only through the 2013 summer if demand projections
do not increase more than planned.
The Underground Alternative
Undergrounding the transmission
line would provide the reliability necessary for the region, but it would be
the most expensive alternative at an estimated $1.7 billion. The line
would be a high-voltage direct current (DC) underground line rather than an
alternating current (AC) overhead line. It would
require a 30-foot right of way and 10-acre sites at each end with seven-story
buildings to house the equipment necessary to convert the currents.
Dominion Virginia
Power is a subsidiary of Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation's largest producers
of energy, with an energy portfolio of about 28,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion
also serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For
more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
