CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – Governor Patrick Morrisey announced today that Fidelis and Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) have joined forces in the development of B&W’s BrightLoop™ facility at the Mountaineer GigaSystem™ (Mountaineer) Site in Mason County, West Virginia. The Brightloop facility will enable an “all of the above” approach to power the on-site AI data campus, utilizing West Virginia’s abundant coal, natural gas, and biomass energy resources.
The Brightloop facility will provide power to Fidelis’ Mountaineer GigaSystem site, the planned 2,300-acre Monarch AI Data Center System, which consists of the Monarch Compute Campus (MCC) at North Point Pleasant and the Expansion MCC (EMC2).
Long-term over 10 years, the Brightloop facility paired with the Mountaineer GigaSystem Site could bring over 3,000 high paying technical, construction, and installation jobs.
“West Virginia is uniquely positioned to power America’s energy resurgence,” said Governor Morrisey. “With today’s partnership, West Virginia is set to gain high-paying jobs and help the United States compete on a global scale to power the future of technology.”
In his State of the State address, Governor Morrisey outlined the need to compete with China in the “arms race for computing power and intelligence.” He said, “America can either find a way to dramatically increase its power production, or China will eclipse our nation in a technological battle that will determine our national security.”
Pairing the Brightloop facility with the Mountaineer GigaSystem site was a collaborative effort between Governor Morrisey, the West Virginia Department of Commerce, and the West Virginia Department of Economic Development.
“We want to thank Governor Morrisey, Secretary Matthew Herridge and Director Michael Graney for helping to facilitate the implementation of these important projects. Their cooperation in supporting an “all of the above” energy policy will keep West Virginia a leader in energy and make the state a leader in energy intensive industries such as data centers.” said Dan Shapiro, Co-Founder and CEO of Fidelis in a company press release.
The site is anticipated to house the following projects:
Mountaineer Coal to Hydrogen: A chemical looping process that takes West Virginia coal and generates hydrogen, steam, electricity, or syngas.
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The initial phase of the project will use 200 tons of coal per day, but subsequent phases could use up to 2900 tons of coal per day with multiple phases planned.
Monarch Compute Campus: Two sites accommodating more than 1,000 acres of buildable space for data centers.
Mountaineer AtmosClear: A biomass power plant that can be used to assist with forestry management. By better managing the forests, West Virginia will be able to increase huntable lands for West Virginia residents.
Mountaineer Hydrogen: Natural gas-powered reforming process that will generate blue hydrogen for use by local businesses.
