CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Governor Patrick Morrisey is touting new energy projects coming to West Virginia and the benefits they may bring as his “50 by 50” generation plan comes into focus.
Morrisey announced another development with natural gas and geothermal company Calpine during his address at the Oil and Gas of West Virginia Legislative Conference on Thursday.
“They’re moving forward on a project that we’ve been talking with them about up in Marshall County. There’s been a lot of talking, working with them over the last year. They’re moving forward on more than a 500-megawatt natural gas facility in Moundsville,” he said.
The project in Moundsville joins upcoming developments in Harrison and Hancock Counties announced by the Morrisey administration recently and, according to the governor, represents a $1 billion investment by Calpine.
The use for the power generated by the new facility is not decided yet, but it could be paired with additional growth. West Virginia Office of Energy Director Nick Preservati said the plant could viably provide support to a data center.
“I think at this point, obviously it’s not a utility-regulated plant, so it’s either going to be merchant, or if a data center feels the need to have additional generation, it’s a great opportunity for them as well,” he said Thursday on MetroNews Talkline.
Pairing the “50 by 50” plan’s efforts to increase West Virginia’s energy capacity with bills passed by the legislature in 2025, Morrisey believes the energy sector is taking notice of the “50 by 50” plan’s efforts to increase West Virginia’s energy capacity with bills passed by the legislature in 2025.
“We announced in September, and between that and, I would argue, the data center bill and the bills from last year that we passed, we’re getting wild enthusiasm from energy companies across the country, and I think it’s only going to continue,” he said.
Preservati sees that growth as proof West Virginia can keep up with the leaders in energy generation. With Morrisey’s attempt to open up the state to new development, he views the governor’s goals as achievable.
“We’re getting companies moving here, just not because of the data center bill but energy providers, so I think we can move fast enough, and we have to because we’re one of two states doing it. We’re taking the lead, and a lot of other states can’t do it, so we can and we have to,” Preservati said.
In addition to the initial investments from energy companies coming to the state, Morrisey sees even more development on the horizon. The governor’s office reports that incoming projects are expected to create 15-20,000 new construction jobs.
“When you start hearing these things, you start to see the absolute importance of maintaining the ability to keep feeding more of these wonderful new jobs into the system,” Morrisey said.
Employment isn’t the only thing Morrisey expects to come from these projects. He envisions local economies growing around facilities as they come into existence.
“When you have these new projects, your county of residence and the neighboring counties, they’re filling up the hotels. They’re filling up the restaurants. They’re going out to shop, and it makes a difference,” Morrisey said.
Morrisey announced the “50 by 50” plan in September with a goal of increasing West Virginia’s energy capacity from 15 to 50 gigawatts by the year 2050. According to Preservati, projects announced since then will account for an additional 2.5 gigawatts