Dominion is running into more resistance to building high-voltage transmission lines, this time in Fredericksburg. Last year the power company stirred up a hornet’s nest with a proposal to build a parade of 100-foot-plus towers through 40 miles of northern Virginia piedmont. Now it’s poked a bee’s nest in the Fredericksburg area.
Dominion would seem to have a much stronger case in the Fredericksburg area, where it has owned an easement since the 1960s, than in the northern piedmont, where it still needs to condemn the land. Yet the power company has said it would “consider” burying five miles of line in the Fredericksburg area, according to the Free Lance-Star, while it has declared that it would be uneconomical to bury the northern piedmont power line.
Still, not all locals are impressed with Dominion’s willingess to discuss the issue. “Right now, we’re at the ‘check is in the mail’ stage,” said Hampton Oaks resident Al Tierney, as quoted by writer Edie Gross.
We can expect to see more of these conflicts as Dominion embarks upon a massive expansion of electric power generation and transmission capacity in Virginia in the years ahead. The conservation option is looking better and better.