Democrats who were in Canaan Valley for interim legislative meetings made a pitch for changes to West Virginia’s law governing certified high impact data centers.
“We all know what House Bill 2014 did, and it’s setting a very dangerous precedent in the state of West Virginia,” said House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, at a livestreamed press conference from Davis Town Hall.
A proposed data center in the Canaan Valley area is known as the Ridgeline Facility, a controversial project featuring a 785-megawatt gas-fired power plant.
STATE OF MINDS: Hoppy Kercheval interviews Amy Margolies, executive director of Tucker United
It is not one one of the projects that West Virginia has certified so far.
The two that have been certified by the state are:
— A $4 billion, 548-acre campus in Berkeley County being spearheaded by the development company Penzance that is envisioned to span 1.9 million square feet and support at least 600 megawatts of artificial intelligence computing capacity.
— Google’s Putnam County data center, a multibillion-dollar campus located in Buffalo, where the tech giant has acquired land and committed to powering the facility with 100% renewable or zero-emission electricity.
HB 2014 introduced a Certified Microgrid Program and a High Impact Data Center Program for West Virginia, aiming to attract and support these industries.
Much of the legislation is focused on data centers, the physical facilities that house computer structures like servers and storage.
Data centers are enormous energy users, and that is only expected to grow as artificial intelligence and other computing innovations gain traction.
STATE OF MINDS: Hoppy Kercheval interviews Chris Morris, director of the West Virginia Data Economy Office.
In the microgrid piece of the legislation, the secretary of the Department of Commerce can identify and certify the districts following conclusions that there would be a significant and positive economic impact for the state.
An industrial plant or facility choosing to locate and operate within a certified district must represent a new electric generating load to take advantage of the program’s provisions.
The bill says certified microgrid districts and certified high impact data centers may not be subject to county or municipal zoning, horticultural, noise, viewshed, lighting, development, or land use ordinances, restrictions, limitations, or approvals.
The legislation also says the certified developments would not be subject to county or municipal building permitting, inspection or code enforcement.
“They don’t want the Tucker County Commission to be able to enforce ordinances. They don’t want county commissions, city councils anywhere in West Virginia to be able to enforce their ordinances, and that’s just plain wrong,” said Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia.
“The data center bill that the Republican supermajority passed in 2025 overrides all types of local ordinances, and it specifically lists some ordinances related to noise, ordinances related to light. It is very specific in that it won’t even allow for code enforcement or building inspections of these data center buildings.”
He continued, “We’re going to continue to fight to restore local control.”
Hansen also said community members should be able to know more up front about the water supply for data centers.
“At the very least, what we should have in West Virginia is a system where the data center developers are transparent and communicate with people in the community about where they’re going to get their water from, what they’re going to do with it, and how they’re going to protect existing and future users of the water, whether that be somebody who has a well, so that they can drink at their home, or a farmer who’s watering their fields,” he said.
“We have a right to know.”
The data center bill was adjusted several times throughout its legislative journey. By the time of its final passage money generated under the terms of the bill was directed at several areas:
50% for a personal income tax reduction fund;
30% to the county or counties where the data center is located;
10% to go to all counties on a per capita basis;
5% to be used for an economic enhancement grant fund; and
5% for an electric credit stabilization and security fund.
Delegate Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, said of communities in line for data centers, “Now they’re only going to get 30% because 50% of that revenue is going to be going straight to Charleston, straight to the state.”
Young continued, “So we’re getting screwed that way, but it’s not too late to fix it.”