While Gladwell noted his enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and technology, he criticized developers for routing high-voltage lines through rural communities and historic land.

"There's a right way and a wrong way to build data centers and to run transmission lines," Gladwell said. "And to put a line from a 50-year-old coal plant in West Virginia across thousands of acres of West Virginia farmland to run another data center in Loudoun County, and to hold public meetings and not allow open questions, and to present people with a fait accompli, and to subvert the democratic process, and not have open and honest conversations with the public is wrong."

Gladwell added that bypassing open public discourse is an error.

"When you behave like this, you strip the action of its legitimacy," Gladwell said. "And when democracies start to pursue policies without legitimacy, they have a big problem on their hands."

Gladwell's comments follow earlier criticism from documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who previously warned that the transmission corridor would destroy historic sites, farms and homes in Jefferson County and the Lower Shenandoah Valley.

Burns called the effort the most important power line fight in the country, saying it is unthinkable to build the line "particularly in the year when we commemorate our 250th anniversary as a nation."

Valley Link Transmission LLC is a joint venture of Transource Energy, FirstEnergy Transmission and Dominion Energy.

While the physical infrastructure terminates at the Rocky Point substation in Frederick County, Maryland, the line's primary purpose is feeding the regional grid to support energy-intensive data centers in Northern Virginia.

Local officials and community advocates warn the project could raise West Virginia electric rates by approximately 5% while offering few local benefits and causing lasting harm to property values, agriculture and tourism.

The project has created a rare political alignment between Republican and Democratic state legislators, alongside formal opposition resolutions from local governments throughout West Virginia.

Republican Sen. Robbie Morris emphasized that affected properties "are not just parcels on a map — they are people, livelihoods, heritage and traditions," while Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Rachel Fetty Anderson characterized the proposed easements as "a de facto taking."

Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, noted that "the perceived benefit is going to data centers in Virginia."

Valley Link spokesperson Lauren Siburkis said many concerns are based on misunderstandings, noting that landowners will retain land ownership through negotiated easements and that eminent domain would only be used as a last resort.

The company collected public comments through Aug. 14 after more than 5,200 people attended 23 open houses, with formal regulatory applications expected to be filed with the West Virginia Public Service Commission in 2027.