Data Centers, Transmission Lines, and Resources Tracker
"DART"
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Welcome to Dart, a multi-state coalition to unify efforts around Data Centers, the Mid-Atlantic Resilience Link (MARL)/Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek (500kV), the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP - 500kV), and the Valley Link (765 kV) transmission line projects. Starting with Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland we aim to cover the PJM area at large. Dart empowers residents and organizations by connecting knowledge, skills, experience, and resources across County and State lines. We provide information and agency and amplify opposition to corporate strongholds.
Welcome to Dart, a multi-state coalition to unify efforts around Data Centers, the Mid-Atlantic Resilience Link (MARL)/Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek (500kV), the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP - 500kV), and the Valley Link (765 kV) transmission line projects. Starting with Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland we aim to cover the PJM area at large. Dart empowers residents and organizations by connecting knowledge, skills, experience, and resources across County and State lines. We provide information and agency and amplify opposition to corporate strongholds.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Why the transmission line invasion?
There is a recent push to build up the electrical grid nationwide. Electricity use has expanded due to several key factors, including robust industrial production, increased cooling demand and accelerating electrification of transportation. The biggest demand however, comes from the rapid expansion of high-consuming data centers for big tech. Companies that develop interconnecting power grids financially benefit from this expansion.
Quantifiable proof of the need is often not forthcoming.
Through a multi-state coalition, DART encourages clean energy solutions. We hold developers and elected officials accountable to ensure landowners and ratepayers are involved in the decision-making process and are beneficiaries rather than victims of energy infrastructure.
What is a Data Center?
A data center is a physical facility that stores, processes, and distributes data and applications. It's the backbone of modern digital operations, providing the infrastructure for a wide range of applications, from websites and social media to cloud computing and AI. The amount of power consumed by data centers is huge. For example, Loudon County, Virginia, which is known as data center alley, is home to nearly 200 processing facilities that use enough power to service an entire metropolis or two million homes.
What we don't know
What is the energy source, and is it green energy?
Where will the water supply for cooling come from?
How will communities be impacted by the noise, light, water, and air pollution generated by data centers?
With technology continuously improving, how quickly will data centers become obsolete?
What are decommissioning plans and site restoration plans?
Who is paying for the upgrades?
What is a Transmission Line?
A transmission line is a system of conductors that transmit electrical power or signals over a distance. It's essentially a "highway" for electricity, carrying power from power plants to homes and businesses. These lines can be overhead, like the ones you see on poles and towers, or underground. Overhead lines are less expensive to install and maintain. However, they are often considered eyesores and environmentally detrimental, requiring large swaths of land to be cleared so they can be accessible for maintenance and repairs.
What we don't know
What are your rights when the planned transmission line crosses your property, forest, or creek?
What are the potential health impacts of transmission lines?
Why can planned routes go through protected wildlands?
What compensation will landowners see if their land is taken by eminent domain?
Who will cover the cost of the upgrades?
Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link Project (MARL)/Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek (500kV)
The Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL) 500-kV is a proposed transmission line project by NextEra Energy that connects power plants in Southwestern Pennsylvania to data centers in Northern Virginia, crossing through West Virginia and Maryland. It involves building a new, approximately 105-mile, 500-kV transmission line and a new substation that will potentially slice through once-protected wildlands that were placed under permanent protection 52 years ago. The path will also pass through private property, working farmland, and undisrupted forests. The ground clearing requires a 200-foot-wide right-of-way to allow access for maintenance and repairs.
Key Concerns
Violation of Protected Wildland Areas
Severing Untouched Forest Habitats
Threatens Property Owners Right of Refusal
Disrupting Working Farms
Dart demands that wildlands be avoided and that forests and waters protections be respected!
Know your rights!
Watch a video that includes interviews with a NextEra Energy representative and citizens preparing for the MARL (Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link) Transmission Line project.
Watch a video that includes interviews with a NextEra Energy representative and citizens preparing for the MARL (Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link) Transmission Line project.
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