WINFIELD, W.Va. — Leaders in Putnam County are drawing a clear line for data center developers hoping to invest in the region going forward.
The Putnam County Commission unanimously passed a resolution on hyperscale data centers during its Tuesday evening meeting. Commission president Andy Skidmore said on MetroNews “Midday” Wednesday that the resolution lays out that developers must follow local county rules and regulations, “as if House Bill 2014 didn’t exist.” The bill, otherwise called the Power Generation and Consumption Act, was passed by lawmakers last year and stripped individual counties and communities’ power in approving or denying investments in the region.
“We want to let developers know that when you come to Putnam County, we’ll get behind you if you do it the right way,” Skidmore said.
In addition to establishing water-feasibility study requirements, sound and light pollution safeguards, and forcing developers to pay “100 percent” of water, sewer, and power upgrade costs, the resolution outlined that the “presence of hyperscale data centers should have input from the communities in which they have been proposed.” Skidmore pointed to productive dialogue between the commission and residents since Google announced plans in March to build a data center in Buffalo.
Community group Putnam United presented a resolution of its own to the commission last month. Spokesperson Heather Ransom told MetroNews that the Putnam County Commission resolution is a “step in the right direction” following months of Buffalo and nearby residents speaking to their elected officials after Google’s announcement.
“This is a recognition that some of those concerns have been heard and are being taken seriously,” Ransom said. “We’re really appreciative of that, and optimistic that perhaps this signals an opportunity for us to work more closely with them and figure out what next steps are.”
Ransom noted that some members are disappointed that the resolution didn’t cover all the concerns they had, but overall, most of the language from Putnam United’s resolution made its way into the commission’s version. Skidmore agreed that the resolution was crafted after months of conversations.
“This has been a great open line of communication,” Skidmore said. “Now, the resolution wasn’t what everybody wanted to see; you do have those folks that don’t want data centers or don’t want AI (artificial intelligence). We understand that, but we also have to be reasonable about what our expectations are, knowing that we really still don’t have any teeth at this point.”
The resolution’s inclusion of developer-funded water-feasibility studies, along with the developers being forced to foot the bill on upgrades, stood out to Ransom.
“Those were some of the best elements of the resolution, and in fact they added those above and beyond what we had in our original verbiage,” Ransom said. “And so, we’re really grateful for that. I think that was a very smart move, and that was in direct response to some of the concerns that people had raised at previous meetings. I think any effort to mitigate the risks associated with these things is great.”
Skidmore praised Google’s transparency throughout the process. He said they have been working with the county planning commission, in line with the resolution passed. An important experience for the commission was the opportunity to tour a data center site in New Albany, Ohio, in May.
“That really helped open the commission’s eyes to what a data center is, what it looks like, how it operates,” Skidmore said. “That was very useful in our process of doing research and gathering information to try to understand the best way to incorporate those into your community.”
As for community members, Ransom said concerns remain about the entire project and what exactly will be constructed. She wondered about what Google plans to use for its power and water, and whether or not the facility would be a closed-loop system. She said the steps taken in the resolution are important, but it’s difficult to determine at this point what needs to be mitigated.
Ransom said a common concern is that while data centers may pay their own bills, an increase in grid demand in the area would cause everyone on the PJM electricity grid to pay the price.
Skidmore admitted that he didn’t have much of a sense about what data centers were even nine months ago. The New Albany visit showcased 800 daily workers, a clean facility, and cleared up concerns about noise levels, Skidmore said. He noted that the commissioners could talk outside the facility, even when generators were running on a warm day, as the noise was controlled and at an appropriate level.
While some people’s concerns immediately go toward once the data center is up and running, Skidmore said his focus is during the construction period. He said Google has been in constant contact about how to handle that phase.
“You’re bringing in a lot of material and a lot of workers on a rural road and through town, through the town of Buffalo,” Skidmore said. “Trying to figure out, work with Department of Transportation, and again — I can’t give Google enough credit — they really are reaching out, trying to mitigate some of those nuisances ahead of time.”
Google is in compliance with the county’s resolution, Skidmore said, and there’s hope that future potential investors do the same. He said that’s what the resolution is for.
“Not all data centers are created equal, and we’re very fortunate that Google is the one locating in Putnam County,” Skidmore said. “What we’ve seen right off the bat with them, as we continue to work through their process; this is about what comes next. If there’s another one behind — we hear rumors but nothing substantiated — to make sure that I guess I can say it, we want to hold them to the Google standard.”
Putnam United’s resolution boiled down to “two asks,” Ransom said, for data centers to be considered for more than financial impacts and for communities to have a say on whether or not data centers come near their homes. Ransom said she appreciated that the commission’s resolution provided input for communities, but it “fell short” of allowing people to have a say on whether or not data centers come.
“Ultimately, what a lot of folks are concerned about, is that the people who already live in Buffalo and the surrounding communities are going to be the ones paying the price for everyone else,” Ransom said. “That’s what we don’t want to happen.”
Learn more about Google’s planned data center in Buffalo here.