Dive Brief:
- Dominion Virginia Power has warned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that if it does not receive authorization to construct a power line across the James River in the near future then peninsula residents could face rolling blackouts.
- The utility said power issues could begin as early as 2017 unless it can begin work on the project by the end of the summer. Residents opposed to the James River line worry the project could spoil area tourism and ruin the scenic vista that the first English settlers saw when they entered Jamestown four centuries ago, the Daily Press reports.
- The 7.76-mile 500 KV overhead transmission power line would run from the Surry nuclear power plant switching station in Surry County, Virginia, to the proposed Skiffes Creek switching station located in James City County.
Dive Insight:
Dominion is pressing the Corps of Engineers for approval of its proposed transmission line across the James River, warning the agency that residents will face blackouts unless it can begin construction in the near future.
"At this juncture, delaying commencement of construction beyond Aug. 1, 2015, given the uncertainty of severe weather and its effect on construction, would likely force Dominion to comply with the MATS compliance deadline by retiring the Yorktown generating units without a transmission solution," Dominion Project Manager Wade Briggs Jr. said in a letter to the Corps.
Dominion has applied to operate the Yorktown station for an additional year, until April 2017. Following that, the utility would need to implement "load shed plans which would be unacceptable to everyone concerned," Briggs wrote.
The proposed power line would utilize 17 towers to cross the James River between the Surry nuclear power plant and new switching station.
Opponents of the line say the utility is crying wolf, according to the Daily Press. They point to alternative transmission routes or the option of buried lines as ways to meet the utility's needs while preserving the historic Jamestown area and the tourism economy around it.
