An enormous transmission project in the mid-Atlantic is stirring up controversy, as ratepayers are expected to shoulder the costs of a proposed transmission line intended to serve new data centers in Northern Virginia.
According to the nonprofit Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a section of the yet-to-be-built Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link will be far costlier to construct than expected.
When approved by transmission operator PJM in 2023, according to the IEEFA, the line was projected to cost nearly $441 million. Now, energy company NextEra expects the line will cost closer to $960 million, more than doubling the earlier estimate.