Valley Link Transmission LLC, a joint venture of several major energy companies, recently announced a schedule of public meetings for a new 765 kilovolt transmission line it intends to build across West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
The project, known as Valley North, would include approximately 260 miles of transmission line connecting the John Amos generating plant in Putnam County, West Virginia, to new substations in Hardy County, West Virginia, and Frederick County, Maryland.
Valley Link will host an open house to discuss the project on Tuesday, June 30 from 4:00 to 7:30 pm at the Storer Ballroom in Shepherd University’s Student Center, located at 210 North King Street in Shepherdstown. Parking will be available in university lots and on nearby streets.
The company has scheduled similar meetings across the potential project area throughout June and July. According to the Valley Link website, the specific path for the transmission line has not been set at this time. What the company calls the “study area” includes all the counties where the company is looking to create a continuous 200 foot wide corridor for the new line and its towers (image above).
A project timeline released with the open house announcement indicates that specific route alternatives will be identified in early 2027.
Multiple Companies, Multiple Projects
The Valley Link joint venture includes Dominion Energy, FirstEnergy Transmission, and Transource Energy. Transource is jointly owned by American Electric Power and Evergy. Dominion Energy announced in May 2026 that it had agreed to be acquired by NextEra Energy.
The Valley North project proposal was accepted by PJM Interconnection, the regional power grid operator, in 2024. This project is separate from a 500 kilovolt transmission project proposal accepted by PJM in 2023, which consists of two segments:
MARL (Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link), to be developed by NextEra, would run from Greene County, Pennsylvania, through Allegany and Garrett counties in Maryland and Monongalia, Preston, Mineral, and Hardy counties in West Virginia before ending in Frederick County, Virginia, west of Winchester. The project also includes construction of a new substation near Winchester.
GDGC (Gore-Dobbs-Goose Creek), to be developed by FirstEnergy, would connect to the MARL line in Frederick County, Virginia, and cross Jefferson County, West Virginia, Loudoun County, Virginia, and Frederick County, Maryland, before connecting to upgraded substations in Maryland.
FirstEnergy held an open house for the GDGC project in August 2025. First Energy has said it plans to use much taller monopoles for the Jefferson County segment to allow the planned 500 kilovolt transmission line to stay within an existing right-of-way that currently exists for a smaller 128 kilovolt transmission line.
NextEra has filed its plans for the MARL project with the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC), and the county commissions of the four West Virginia counties within the project’s footprint have filed as intervenors in the PSC proceedings. FirstEnergy has not yet formally submitted its GDGC plans to the PSC.
Local Opposition
In February 2025, the Jefferson County Commission voted to send a letter to PJM opposing the proposed GDGC route through Jefferson County. The vote followed a presentation by local residents outlining concerns about the project.
Those residents later organized as Jefferson County VOLT, which has continued efforts to oppose the GDGC line.
The Commission’s letter to PJM included one qualification to its opposition, stating that it could support transmission projects that include substations providing direct benefits to Jefferson County.
At present, however, no new substations are planned in Jefferson County as part of either the 500-kilovolt MARL/GDGC project or the 765 kilovolt Valley North project.
Published in the Observer Weekly 2026 Jun 11.
By Steve Pearson