Data centers drive search for new power corridors | News | princewilliamtimes.com
“Surging power demand in Northern Virginia, driven by the proliferation of data centers to support the internet, will mean lots more power lines and likely conflicts over who gets them in their backyards.
Dominion Energy will have to navigate around a web of conflicting interests: historical and cultural sites seeking protection; businesses that fear towers and wires will ruin their aesthetic; and landowners who don’t want them on their property…
…And the projects being aired in Prince William and Fauquier are just the tip of the iceberg. PJM Interconnection, which operates the grid in 13 states, is planning a massive project to expand the grid’s ability to deliver power in the Mid-Atlantic region. It has taken bids on 72 proposals stretching from New Jersey to southern Virginia and West Virginia, driven largely by its forecasts of zooming data center power demands.
Karen Sheehan, director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, identified 14 of those projects that in some way affect her county, and at least five others appear to pass through Fauquier. While some of the proposals contain duplicate components, and not all parts will be built, the bids for the Prince William projects alone total $16.7 billion. The cost will be borne by all Virginia homes and businesses with electricity bills.
“I don’t think that it’s at all fair,” said Sheehan, a whose organization opposes the Prince William Digital Gateway and other data center proliferation in western Prince William County. “It’s very clear that the whole reason the grid needs to expand is the data center load.”
Dominion and PJM acknowledge that data centers are the main driver for the expansion but say the work will ensure there is reliable power for everyone….