The U.S. Department of Energy released May 8 a list of potential “priority” corridors for new transmission infrastructure that would give a federal commission the authority to overrule state agencies when ruling on transmission projects. One possible corridor includes existing transmission rights-of-way across Loudoun County along with a new path through western Loudoun.
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500-kilovolt transmission lines north of Lovettsville.
Times-Mirror/Coy Ferrell
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Hundreds of miles of electric transmission lines (in red) crisscross the Northern Virginia area. The high-voltage lines connect power plants — like the Potomac Energy Center, a natural-gas plant south of Leesburg — to substations, from which electricity is distributed either to end users or to other substations. (Transmission line map files via the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data)
Times-Mirror/Coy Ferrell
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Transmission lines at the foot of the Short Hill Mountain near Lovettsville
Times-Mirror/Karen Graham
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