Upshur County residents can review Valley Link’s narrowed route options for the controversial proposed Valley North power line at a Buckhannon open house on Thursday, November 12.
The event will run from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Event Center at Brushy Fork, 929 Brushy Fork Road, according to Valley Link’s project page. Visitors may drop in at any point during those hours to ask questions and learn about the project at their own pace.
The Buckhannon event is one of 12 open houses Valley Link plans to hold to present potential routes and collect community feedback.
Valley North would add about 260 miles of 765-kilovolt transmission line — 765,000 volts — between Putnam County, West Virginia, and Frederick County, Maryland.
Critics say the line won’t benefit local residents and is designed to power out-of-state data centers.
The company says its team evaluated community comments, technical requirements and environmental considerations after the initial round of public engagement.
“As a result, the study area has been narrowed considerably, allowing discussions to focus more directly on potential route options,” Valley Link states on its project page.
The company’s October Upshur County overview map labels potential routes B and D north of Buckhannon, and C and E south of the city. The northern corridor runs north of Lorentz and south of Hodgesville. The southern corridor passes near Frenchton, Adrian and Ellamore.
The map cautions that the routes and rights-of-way are preliminary and subject to change based on landowner input, engineering, ground surveys and studies. Valley Link says it expects to identify a preferred route in early 2027.
The project has faced local opposition. The Upshur County Commission adopted a resolution against it July 16, citing concerns about private property, rural communities and the county’s landscape. The resolution urged developers and regulators to give priority to alternatives that avoid new overhead corridors. State Sens. Robbie Morris and Bill Hamilton, along with State Delegates Carl “Robbie” Martin and Adam Burkhammer, have also opposed the project.
Other nearby options for open houses include Stonewall Resort’s Roanoke Event Center on November 18 and the Gilmer County Recreation Center in Glenville on November 19, both from 4 to 7 p.m. The full schedule is available here.
People unable to attend can submit comments through the interactive project map, email vlnorth@vltransmission.com or leave a voicemail at 304-207-0120.
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