West Virginia: Stop trying to make data centers happen
When people refer to West Virginia as 'Almost Heaven,' we think of the beautiful, quiet scenic areas like Black Water Falls, Canaan Valley and Dolly Sods, all in Tucker County.
However, our lawmakers just see money signs — and not very many of them.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey recently signed into law House Bill 2014 — one of his key priorities — which created the state's microgrid program to encourage data centers to come to the Mountain State.
Residents in Tucker County are already fighting a proposed data center. A Virginia company, Fundamental Data, has applied for an air permit from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for the 'Ridgeline Facility.' It includes an off-the-grid natural gas power plant between Thomas and Davis, which will likely power the giant data center proposed for a site just a mile away from the county's most heavily populated and tourist-attracting areas.
A microgrid is a small power plant that is usually attached to a larger national grid, but runs independently to power things like a college campus, hospital complex or, in this case, a data center. West Virginia's new law allows 'high impact data centers' to curtail local zoning ordinances, meaning their microgrids don't have to attach to existing utilities.
HB 2014, as requested by Morrisey, originally included provisions that would have required electric utilities with coal fired plants to operate at a higher capacity — 69% compared to 40% — and hold a 45-day supply of coal on hand at all times, while most only stockpile a 30-day supply.
Lawmakers saw this bill as an opportunity to boost the state's coal industry, but power companies said it would be difficult to meet those standards. Not only that, but meeting those standards would have raised electricity rates for customers.
The bill was amended dozens of times and passed without those standards, and Morrisey signed it into law. Now residents of Tucker County are worried about a proposed data center taking away from the serene beauty of their home.
As someone who grew up in Poca just across the river from the coal-powered John E. Amos Power Plant, I understand why you wouldn't want a new one to pop up near your home. It's never quiet — you can hear the beep beep beep of equipment backing up all night and the banging of construction, and when the towers release steam, it sounds like the end of the world (at least it did when I first heard it as a child). And coal definitely keeps the lights on at the plant 24/7.
In Virginia, which has the largest data center market in the world, there are local noise and lighting ordinances to protect residents. West Virginia residents won't have the same protections.
My dad said during the 1970s, before air pollution was taken more seriously, ash from the John Amos plant would be all over the place in the mornings. Sometime in the 1990s, everyone on our street noticed spots on their cars that messed up the paint. My dad said the air pollution commission ran some tests on the spots that indicated they came from the power plant.
It only happened that one time, dad said, but it was worrisome then and it's something to think about now as the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations. For instance, the Department of Justice has been told to block states from enforcing their own regulations on coal — because President Donald Trump wants to revive 'beautiful, clean coal.'
Not only are power plants loud, but data centers are as well. They create noise pollution, typically a low humming sound, which is the cooling system that must run constantly to keep the temperatures down. Many data centers also use a diesel powered back-up system in case they lose power, and those must be tested monthly. These generators can run between 85 and 100 dBA — 85 dBA is when hearing can be harmed.
So why are we putting up with this noise? It must be because it'll bring lots of jobs to the state, right? Not likely. Data centers are just buildings full of computers, and are largely automated. You ever wonder where the stuff you save on the cloud is stored, where the computers that make AI art are or where bitcoin is mined? In a data center.
Some facilities employ only 50 people. Most data center jobs come from the construction of the facilities, and are often contracted from out-of-state.
Aside from data centers not bringing jobs, they could cost ratepayers more money. Virginia has proposed two transmission lines for their data centers, and the lines could cost West Virginians more than $440 million, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis
The two transmission lines, both of which cut through West Virginia, were proposed to help with growing demand for electricity from data centers. PJM's transmission cost allocation methodology charges all ratepayers for the transmission infrastructure because it assumes that the 'regional transmission costs could not be attributed to a single new user or class of users.' However the most recent Regional Transmission Expansion Plan processes shows that's not the case.
While West Virginia is trying to use Virginia as an example on data centers, the state isn't doing it the same way with regulations and protections.
'What you're going to get if you do it this way is the worst players, the ones that didn't need to be in Northern Virginia,' said Julie Bolthouse, director of land use at Piedmont Environmental Council in Virginia. '… the players that are wanting that lack of regulations because they didn't want to abide by rules and didn't want to or need to protect communities, which is worse for West Virginia and the communities. What West Virginia is doing is not what Virginia is doing.'
If lawmakers are serious about bringing data centers to the state, then they need to be serious about the consequences and set better regulations to protect residents who want to enjoy wild, wonderful West Virginia without noise cancelling headphones.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Yahoo
Six arrested while protesting cuts to Medicaid, SNAP outside Capito's Charleston office
People hold signs protesting cuts to Medicaid and SNAP at a demonstration outside West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's office in Charleston, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Lori Kersey | West Virginia Watch) Six people were arrested Wednesday afternoon at West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's office in Charleston, West Virginia, as they attempted to protest proposed federal cuts to food assistance and health care programs. Seven people came to Capito's office in the United Bank building in downtown Charleston to urge Capito to vote no on the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,' — legislation being debated by the Senate that analysts say would make historic cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provide health care and food assistance to thousands of West Virginia residents. The group found that the office was closed to the public, they said in a news release. When they called the office, they were denied a chance to arrange a meeting, they said. One person apparently left before the other six were arrested. According to a news release, the Charleston Police Department charged the six with trespassing. They included Charleston City Council members Beth Kerns and Joe Solomon along with activist and a long-time episcopal priest Jim Lewis. Community members Lyn May, Paul Dalzell and Morgan Fowler were also arrested. The news release said police responded to a trespassing complaint and that the people were asked to leave but refused. 'My little girl depends on Medicaid,' Fowler said in a statement Wednesday. 'My aunt survived a stroke, but if these Medicaid cuts go through, she won't have a pathway to survive at all. Senator Capito claims to care about West Virginia, but this bill would cut health care for our babies so billionaires can buy bigger boats.' Outside the building, about a dozen more people gathered holding signs with messages against the proposed cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. John Doyle, a retired Charleston resident, held a sign that warned said 'SNAP saves Lives. Hands Off.' Doyle said the bill would do tremendous harm to West Virginia in particular. 'I'm particularly concerned about Medicaid, SNAP and other human services that are going to be slashed,' Doyle said. 'This is a state where that whole economy — health care, is the major employer in West Virginia. If they don't think this is going to affect the whole state, they're wrong.' Charleston Councilwoman Chelsea Steelhammer was also among the people protesting outside the building. Steelhammer said she's motivated to protest by her work as a teacher. 'My students — a lot of them depend on Medicaid and SNAP,' Steelhammer said. 'If they don't have health care, they're sick and they don't learn. If they don't have food, they're hungry and they don't learn. And if you don't learn, you don't succeed.' Steelhammer said if she could talk to Capito, she would tell her to listen to her constituents. 'Just think about what's going to happen to these kids,' she said. Capito and Sen. Jim Justice, both Republicans, have expressed support for adding work requirements to Medicaid. In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Capito said that everyone should have the right to make their voices heard in a respectful and peaceful way. She defended the proposals to cut SNAP and Medicaid. 'The Medicaid and SNAP provisions included in the reconciliation bill that the Senate is currently considering focus on managing and maintaining the programs for those who are eligible and intended to be in them,' she said. 'Our goal in the bill is to root the waste, fraud and abuse out of the programs, to ensure that it is sustainable for the long term.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Dominion Post
22-06-2025
- Dominion Post
DOGE terminates $9 million state digital equity grant
dbeard@ MORGANTOWN – A $9 million federal grant to the state Economic Development Department recently got DOGE'd. But the department and Gov. Patrick Morrisey both failed to answer questions about it. The $9,011,588 grant came from the U.S Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration to support the state's digital equity program. DOGE gives the termination date as May 9 and notes a total savings of $8,791,067.90. The $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act, passed in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, was intended to expand internet access for certain disadvantaged populations, according to the Associated Press. 'It gave states and tribes flexibility to deliver high-speed internet access to families that could not afford it, computers to kids who did not have them, telehealth access to older adults in rural areas, and training and job skills to veterans.' But President Trump announced in late May his intention to end it, AP reported. USASpending shows that the grant began Dec. 1, 2024 and was slated to run through Nov. 30, 2029. Its stated purpose was to implement West Virginia's digital equity plan. Among its missions: launching digital skills and local digital equity planning programs; a piloting program to supply laptops; and collecting data on such things as number of covered populations served, total number served, and personal testimony of participants. The grant description said, 'The proposed projects will result in narrowing the digital divide, improved access to digital resources, and increased accessibility and impact initiatives for community development.' Morrisey and the Economic Development Department failed to respond to three inquiries sent to each on two separate days. In early January, echoing Trump, Morrisey issued an executive order eliminating DEI – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – from state government. DEI opponents generally view it as a form of reverse racism. Among the questions we asked Morrisey and the department were if the grant termination was tied to DEI opposition, what the impact of the grant termination might be, and if the state would continue the digital equity program via some other means. The general consensus is that West Virginia's broadband access challenges are tied to terrain and the state's rural nature, and we asked Morrisey and the department how those issues factor into the aims of the digital equity plan – getting no answer, of course. We also asked about the difference between the full grant amount and the listed savings – $220,520.10 – and if some of the money has been spent, what on, and if they have to return it. As it happens, on Thursday, Morrisey announced funding for broadband infrastructure deployment projects in 10 counties to facilitate the expansion of fiber-to-the-home broadband infrastructure. Morrisey said that with the installation of approximately 362 miles of fiber infrastructure, 2,897 locations will gain access to high-speed broadband. The counties are Preston, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Grant, Jackson, Lewis, Mason, Pendleton and Putnam.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Yahoo
Local US House of Representatives candidate speaks out on Wyoming County's water woes
PRINCETON, WV (WVNS) – One candidate for next year's election wants to make his voice heard on Wyoming County's water woes. West Virginia Governor Morrisey comments on ongoing projects in Wyoming County Larry Jackson is a republican candidate for the US House of Representatives in West Virginia District 1. Although Jackson was born in Princeton, he is a lifelong Wyoming County resident. He was out meeting voters at the Celebrate Princeton Street Fair. One issue he was particularly interested in is the water quality in Wyoming County. Jackson has spoken with several people about the water quality there and is concerned about its contamination. 'From my understanding, there [have] been some federal grants that have came in. That money is unaccounted for. I want to know where that money went. I want to hold people accountable. These people need held accountable. I will bring accountability back to these places [if I were to be elected]. Our tax money needs to be brought here. There is no need that anyone in southern West Virginia should be doing without clean drinking water,' said Jackson. Researchers identify US counties with worst drinking water violations Jackson is running in the 2026 general election on the Republican ballot. He is running against incumbent Carol Miller, David Sartin, and Isaiah Rucker. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
