The view from Marc and Elizabeth Shockley’s front porch could easily land in an outdoor magazine. The historic landscape slopes gently downhill away from their home (circa 1790), and tumbles like a painting across Bloomery Road in Charles Town, West Virginia, eventually spilling into the Shenandoah River at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains on Jefferson County’s eastern edge.
For 13 years, the Shockleys have lived and farmed hay, beef cattle and corn on their 96-acre postcard of a plot, which they named Mulberry Hill Farm — just 15 minutes from downtown Charles Town.
Like their neighbors, the land in this part of the county represents many things — above all else, a living, a dream setting. A forever home.
As fate would have it, the swath also means something else to someone else — a potential opportunity for Valley Link Transmission Company LLC, a joint venture among Dominion Energy, FirstEnergy Transmission and Transource Energy. Its proposed Valley North Project would span approximately 260 miles, carrying new 765-kilovolt transmission lines from the coal-fired John E. Amos Power Plant in Putnam County, West Virginia, to Frederick County, Maryland — a colossal infrastructure undertaking that could cut through 20 West Virginia counties and gobble up nearly 7,000 acres of farmland, forests, and residential property along the way.
When the Shockleys sit on their front porch in the evenings, like many nearby, they’re reminded of why they chose this part of West Virginia to call home. When they spend their days working out back — already bordered by power line towers over 100 feet tall — they can’t help but wonder what the future holds, and if there’s even a place in it for them and their family.
“Between here and the highway, which you can see through the trees in the winter, there could be four sets of transmission lines within walking distance of us if Valley Link gets approved,” Elizabeth said. “What’s the ramifications of that?”…