MORGANTOWN – The Public Service Commission’s four public hearings on the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link project are set to begin on Thursday, June 4.
With that in mind, The Dominion Post talked to NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic’s Kaitlin McCormick, senior director on the project execution team.
Meanwhile, West Virginians Against Transmission Infrastructure – WATI – is urging people to turn out at the hearings.
We met with McCormick at their Cheat Lake office. “This is an opportunity for the Public Service Commission to hear from the public,” she said. “We appreciate that there are people who are going to take time out of their busy days and their lives to come and share their feedback.”
They also welcome direct feedback. Residents can call 833-849-1461, or email marl@nexteraenergy.com.
McCormick asked a question and answered it. “What’s in this for West Virginia? There are electrical benefits. This project is one that is going to serve West Virginians.”
It’s networked in to the grid, she said, and not designed for any one customer or any one power generator. “You may use I-79 to get where you’re going, but you don’t have an off-ramp to your house. It’s not going straight into your driveway.”
We talked about the concerns and the projected benefits. MARL will create about 200 construction jobs
in West Virginia, with $37 million in payroll, she said. While they are temporary jobs, workers can build a career off of them. NextEra will work with the unions through their general contractor to hire union workers.
Some opponents have stated concerns about the right of way for the line, telling The Dominion Post it could go as wide as 1,000 feet in places.
McCormick said the right of way is 200 feet – 100 feet on each side. There will be some area around structures and some temporary contraction access points.
“All of those are identified and negotiated with each individual landowner in accordance with the the specific needs,” she said. They had a wider study corridor to accommodate landowners for possible changes in the proposed route.
And while the PSC has not yet approved the project, she said, NextEra has a team of agents out working with landowners on right-of-way agreements.
“We’re excited to invest in West Virginia, to help support West Virginia’s energy economy and to help make sure that we’re going to deliver electricity for generations to come,” McCormick said. “We can’t wait for the grid to fail to fix it.”
We previously spoke with Matt Pawlowski, vice president and head of execution for NextEra Energy subsidiary NextEra Energy Transmission, about some of the concerns raised by opponents, including that the MARL line is viewed as a power pass-through from Pennsylvania to data centers in Virginia, with no real local benefit.
Pawlowski said they are in talks with the West Virginia Office of Energy and PJM Interconnection about a possible new substation in the state leading off the line. McCormick expanded on that a bit, saying they are working with the state and PJM on a statement of principles to identify some opportunities for interconnections and an additional substation in West Virginia.
The public hearings are all set to begin at 5:30 p.m. They will be in Keyser on June 4; Romney on June 5; Morgantown on June 10, Monongalia County Center, 270 Mylan Park Lane; and Kingwood on June 11, Kingwood Civic Center.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 4,667 letters of opposition and 116 letters of support filed with the PSC.
WATI shared a newsletter with The Dominion Post urging opponents to attend the hearings.
“These hearings may be the only opportunity most citizens will ever have to speak directly to the three Public Service Commissioners who will ultimately help decide the future of this project,” WATI said. “A strong public turnout matters. … The commission needs to see the faces behind the farms, homes, businesses, churches, forests, and communities that stand to be impacted.
“This project is not just about transmission lines,” WATI said. “It is about the future of West Virginia communities and whether West Virginians should bear the burden of massive infrastructure intended largely to support Virginia data center expansion.”
