The Virginia Mercury article highlights the personal struggle of a historic Orange County, Virginia farmer named Carter whose multigenerational land is threatened by the proposed Valley Link transmission line. Carter’s family has farmed the historic property since 1910, a parcel that was historically designated as part of the local Black and lower-income community. Today, Carter uses the land to grow organic African crops, teaches sustainable farming techniques at local universities, and serves as a consultant to help keep small agricultural operations financially viable. However, all three proposed routes for the massive new electrical infrastructure converge directly on his family’s property, putting his livelihood, heritage, and the farm’s future at severe risk.
The core of the dispute centers on a massive 765-kilovolt power line project—a joint venture led by major utility companies including Dominion Energy—designed to route electricity from Lynchburg to Culpeper County. The energy is needed to support Northern Virginia’s booming power demands, which are largely driven by the region’s massive concentration of tech data centers. Rural landowners and community advocates argue that the project forces agricultural families to sacrifice invaluable, historic land and face potential property devaluation through eminent domain, all to supply power to commercial tech hubs miles away without offering any direct benefit to the local rural communities.
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