Valley North power line open houses reach Winchester and Lovettsville
Valley Link holds drop-in open houses in Winchester on Nov. 5 and Lovettsville on Nov. 12 on its proposed 260-mile, 765-kilovolt Valley North line.
Valley Link Transmission will hold two drop-in open houses in Virginia this month on its proposed Valley North power line. The first is Thursday, Nov. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Frederick County Middle School, 4661 N. Frederick Pike, Winchester. The second is Thursday, Nov. 12, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Lovettsville Game Protective Association, 16 S. Berlin Pike, Lovettsville. Neither has a formal presentation; visitors can arrive any time during the listed hours.
Valley North would be about 260 miles of new 765-kilovolt transmission line between Putnam County, W.Va., and Frederick County, Md., with new substations in Hardy County, W.Va., and Frederick County, Md. The Virginia counties shown on the project's route maps are Clarke, Frederick and Loudoun. Valley Link says those maps show potential routes, not a final one, and that it plans to identify a preferred route in early 2027. The project page does not list a cost.
PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for 13 states, selected the line. According to the Town of Lovettsville's project page, PJM estimates it must double transmission capacity into Virginia and Maryland by 2035, driven by demand growth in Loudoun and elsewhere. The town says Valley Link is evaluating alternative routes through western Loudoun County and that a corridor next to Lovettsville is one of the likely options. Valley Link Transmission Company LLC, the consortium building the line, is made up of three companies.
The line is separate from the Joshua Falls-Yeat 765-kilovolt line that Campbell County supervisors voted 4-3 to oppose on Oct. 6. WJLA reported Wednesday that Valley North, which would serve data centers, is drawing opposition from homeowners and farmers. Valley Link is holding 12 in-person open houses in total in November across West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia, running through Nov. 19.
The open houses are the first chance for Frederick and Loudoun residents to see the route options and comment before Valley Link names a preferred route in early 2027, on a line driven in large part by Northern Virginia's data center load.
What's next
- Nov. 5 Open house, Frederick County Middle School, Winchester, 5-8 p.m.
- Nov. 12 Open house, Lovettsville Game Protective Association, 4-7 p.m.
- Nov. 19 Last of 12 November open houses (Brunswick, Md.)
- Early 2027 Valley Link expected to identify a preferred route
Sources
- Valley Link / FirstEnergy release via PR Newswire, Oct. 13, 2026
- Valley Link: Valley North project page
- Town of Lovettsville: Valley North project
- WJLA, Nov. 4, 2026
- The Virginia Pulse: Campbell County and the Joshua Falls-Yeat line
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