Fox Business host Dagen McDowell defended a proposed energy project that would power artificial intelligence data centers in Virginia by running high-voltage transmission lines through three Maryland counties, despite objections from a local Christmas tree farm.
“The Big Money Show” co-host dismissed the farm’s concerns Friday following Fox correspondent Darren Botelho’s report from Gaver Farm in Mount Airy, where four transmission towers for the $424 million Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project are set to be built.
Gaver Farm agrotourism manager Laura House told Botelho that Maryland is “just an extension cord” for the project, which would “go through the state” without actually benefiting it, adding that it would be “devastating” for locals and her farm if construction moves forward.
“So, this is just putting transmission lines over this property,” McDowell responded. “I think that the United States would gladly saw off Maryland and kick it into the Atlantic Ocean if you don’t like it. … They’re trying to blame AI, it’s not AI ... It’s something else. It’s called growth and development of business.”
PSEG’s Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project states on its website that the proposed 67 miles of transmission lines and towers would “bolster the reliability of the state’s power grid,” noting that Maryland currently sources around 40% of its electricity from out-of-state.
