BUFFALO, W.Va. — Google, a tech giant in the cyber industry, has proposed bringing a data center to West Virginia, and reaction to the news is pouring in from state lawmakers and property owners.
Last Friday morning, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Google purchased 1,700 acres along Route 62 near Buffalo in Putnam County.
The company plans to build the facility on the west end of Buffalo, opposite the Toyota West Virginia plant. Officials say the flat land and an existing 765-kilovolt transmission line from Appalachian Power were key factors in Google’s decision to buy the property
Cabell County Delegate Daniel Linville told MetroNews Midday Friday that he believes this will be huge for West Virginia.
“I think that this announcement, and several that we’ve had here recently are going to be incredible for West Virginia,” he said. “It’s incredible dollars for our schools, for our counties, for our emergency services, incredible amounts of money moving through the economy, and a new opportunity for folks to be able to live here and raise their family and not have to move away.”
Google will cover all infrastructure upgrades needed for the facility, as well as the electricity costs to operate it.
Alisa Winters, who owns property about five miles from the proposed center, spoke on MetroNews Midday last week after the news broke.
She said they had been hearing rumors about a new facility for about a year and called the news disappointing.
“As someone who lives on a farm, and my grandparents farm is going to be right next to this proposed plot where it’s going, it’s just upsetting because I love agriculture, and I love that I’ve been able to be involved with that and I want to raise my child around that, and I feel like our community and that area is not going to exist the way we’ve grown to know and love it, and so it’s just very disappointing,” Winters said.
She highlighted concerns about the center, including noise, air pollution, and water contamination.
Linville said water shouldn’t be an issue, noting the company has committed to returning more water to the system than it uses by 2030. He added that noise, usually from chillers, shouldn’t be a problem since they’re being used less and less.
He said he believes the company will be a respectful neighbor and ensure the community isn’t impacted.
“I think they’re going to work to be very very good neighbors, I think they’ll work to have really good setbacks, I mean you can build a very very large building on 1700 acres and so if that’s what they’ve assembled then they’ll be able to have setbacks and all sorts of things to try to make sure that nobody is impacted,” he said.
He said the center will also create good jobs, though he isn’t sure how many the new facility could bring.
“But there are certainly jobs, and there going to provide a good wage for West Virginians,” Linville said.
Winters said she believes the data center could affect residents in Buffalo and nearby areas. She added that she plans to oppose the development, though she’s unsure what steps they can take.
“I don’t know necessarily know what the next steps should be or what we will do because I heard there’s already a law in place that even if we wanted to fight it we can’t fight it, but I can assure I’m going to do my best to try, I just can’t sit back and let this unfold and say that I didn’t try, I just can’t live with that,” Winters said.
She said they’ve already created a Facebook group opposing the center and may hold a community meeting to rally against it.