Woodside Substation

NextERA’s Woodside Substation Proposal

The Woodside substation is part of the MARL / Gore-Doubs-Goose-Creek Project. 

The property purchased / proposed for the Substation is in Clear Brook in Frederick County,  Virginia

This proposed 500kV transmission substation is to manage / maintain the voltage level of the MARL/Gore-Doubs-GooseCreek line to compensate for the voltage losses that HVAC transmission lines incur over large distances.

 NextERA could’t have put together a fouler proposal if they tried.  

• It is a 30 acre 500kV substation on a 72 acre lot which is a combination of 2 properties, one of which is a Rural Preservation Tract from the Ridgeway Estates Subdivision
• The substation comes within 40′ of established homes and will destroy the equity those landowners have in their homes.   The site plan locates the substation  closer to the homes than to Route I81 – the buffer on the I81 side is 100′. 
• The comprehensive plan changes in 2023 marked this area for future (2035)  light industry  development.  According to Frederick County zoning a transmission substation is a “by-right” use for properties zoned Rural Areas (RA).
• NextERA stated they choose this site because there were already transmission lines on it and this was the only farmer in the area willing to sell his property to them.

Frederick County, Virginia:

Despite overwhelming opposition to the proposal,  the Frederick County Planning Commission voted that the project was in accord with the comprehensive plan.

Below is the Frederick County Virginia Staff Report on the NextERA  Woodside substation proposal as well as a letter submitted in opposition to the substation.

NextERA has submitted its application for the proposed Woodside Substation in Clear Brook, Virginia

See VA SCC Docket Number: PUR-2026-00018

Deadline To Intervene: TBD