‘Priceless to me’: Valley Link transmission line threatens generational farm in Orange County

“It started November 5th, 1910. My great-great-grandparents purchased this property for $722.50,” Michael Carter Jr. said at a picnic table outside the Orange County home where generations of his family have been born and died.  

As insects chirp in the grass and cows mull around the pasture, Carter points to the tree line at the back of the property, on the other side of the creek that separates the property from his neighbor’s. That is where a portion of the proposed 115-mile, 765 kilovolt Valley Link transmission line will slice through, if state regulators approve the project. 

While the final route preferred by the company is yet to be determined, all three of the current iterations of the route all converge on this spot bordering Carter’s family’s land. The line will send surges of power to Northern Virginia, where most of the state’s data centers are clustered.

“This was considered to be kind of the black and poor side of town.”

Carter has used the land for farming for years, specializing in growing organic African crops. 

“This was considered to be kind of the Black and poor side of town,” he said of the historic acreage.

He has taught courses on these farming techniques at multiple Virginia universities and recently became a consultant to help others make their farms financially viable. 

The Valley Link line line, which is a joint venture between Dominion and two other companies, will stretch from Lynchburg to Culpeper County to bring more power to Northern Virginia where the demand is greatest – largely due to the world’s largest concentration of data centers being housed there. 

The line would be the biggest transmission project in Dominion’s territory. But Carter said it would infringe on land that is immeasurably valuable to his family and community.

“You know, births, deaths, joys, and pains have all been experienced here, and you’re trying to rob me of that because you want to provide more electricity to the data centers,” Carter said.

The project was identified by the regional grid operator PJM, which manages the power grid for 13 states and D.C., as  crucial to maintain grid reliability. Valley Link will be able to carry 6.6 gigawatts of power from Joshua Falls in Campbell County to a new substation in Culpeper. 

Depending on which route makes the final cut, the transmission line could cut through nine counties: Campbell, Appomattox, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Louisa, Orange, Goochland, Spotsylvania and Culpeper.

Carter had been planning a major farm expansion to create a nature-based health resort and rural retreat for city dwellers and had purchased nearby property to facilitate that vision when he first got word of the planned transmission line. Now, the future of his dream is uncertain.

“It’s beyond frustrating. It’s disheartening,” Carter said. “We’ve been fighting for this land for the last 116 years. I’m the fifth generation (and) now I have to continue to fight to just maintain peace of mind.”

Transmission lines are built within a wide berth of the trees, which would mean that the trees lining Carter’s homesite would likely have to be cut down. He also worries the creek would be damaged during construction.

Carter is extremely concerned about how exposure to the Electromagnetic Field (EMF) from the lines could impact human health. Research on potential links between EMF exposure and certain cancers is inconclusive, according to the National Cancer Institute. Carter said it’s still too risky.

“I’m old enough to remember the class action lawsuits related to asbestos. It was 100% safe and then, 20 years later, ‘have you or your family ever been exposed to asbestos?’” 
I love my health too much … to put my grandchildren in jeopardy of harm because (they) wanted to make sure that (they) can build another 700 to a 1,000 data centers in Virginia,” he said.

Valley Link’s developers said they are studying the EMF impacts and are aiming to design lines that reduce EMF exposure. 

The concern is so great that Carter has discouraged his children from continuing the farm if the transmission lines are built near the property. 

He said he is willing to walk away from the land his ancestor acquired over a century ago, where a marker nestled in trees still marks the place where an uncle died in a farming accident — and where Carter envisioned generations of his family would continue to live and work.

“How do we get back to the indigenous understanding of making a decision for seven generations? We’re constantly making decisions for seven figures, and it’s costing us our lives,” Carter said. “It’s costing us our future because we’re not looking at seven generations. Our future is not in our children anymore. It’s money.”

Before she was governor, Abigail Spanberger visited the farm during her time in Congress, a nod to the role the property plays in Virginia history. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has also visited the historic house that Carter had slowly been turning into a museum.

Inside, a commemorative letter by Spanberger hangs on the walls next to pictures of his grandmother, an aunt’s diploma and news clippings that show the evolution of a Black Virginia family who dared to chase the American dream in the nadir of the Jim Crow South.

“I’m fighting for the legacy of my great-grandmother, for my great-great-grandparents, for all those who have sacrificed to make sure that we had this,” Carter said.
”I can’t, as much as I know I may have to walk away, I can’t walk away without a fight.”

Others are also opposing the power line, with grassroots efforts to reject the project mobilizing across the nine impacted counties. 

The line’s developers are still determining their preferred route and back up options for the State Corporation Commission to consider. Virginians interested in learning more about the project may visit its website.