Dominion Virginia Power has asked the State Corporation Commission for permission to build two transmission lines to meet increasing demand for electricity in Hampton Roads, reports the Associated Press. The two lines, totaling 81.5 miles in length, would cost an estimated $223 million, crossing Dinwiddie County, Suffolk, Prince George, Sussex, Southampton and Isle of Wight counties.
It looks like Virginia, which has one of the most electricity-intensive regional economies in the world, has reached a crossroads: We can continue down a path of relentlessly growing demand for electricity, which we meet by building large new power plants in isolated areas and connecting to population centers with transmission lines…. or we can get serious about conservation, energy efficiency, small-scale power sources close to the consumer, and, where economical, renewable energy.
There’s no way to avoid adding new capacity. But we don’t have to criss-cross every corner of the state in transmission lines.