CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – , Governor Patrick Morrisey joined Senate President Randy Smith, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, and leadership from the West Virginia Department of Commerce today at a joint press conference to announce a unified legislative and executive vision for the state’s digital and economic future: the West Virginia Responsible Data Center Development Plan.
Watch the press conference here.
“Today, as the world stands on the cusp of a new digital and economic frontier, West Virginia is stepping forward once again to lead, not by repeating the mistakes of other states, but by implementing a proactive, 20-year development strategy on our terms,” said Governor Morrisey.
The framework, developed in partnership with the West Virginia House and Senate, leverages the legislative authority of House Bill 2014, the Power Generation and Consumption Act, to establish state-level oversight and strict development criteria for hyperscale data centers.
Prior to the passage of HB 2014, more than 50 West Virginia counties lacked regulatory mechanisms to approve, condition, or deny large-scale data center projects. The new framework provides state and local officials with the tools to screen developers, attract high-value facilities to optimal locations, and protect local communities from unsuitable developments.
Key Principles of the West Virginia Responsible Data Center Development Plan:
- Comprehensive State Planning: West Virginia is leveraging a clean slate, starting with zero active hyperscale facilities, to build a 20-year comprehensive plan managed by the Data Economy Office under HB 2014. Developers must demonstrate baseline financial capacity, committed capital, and clear power load projections to qualify for certification, ensuring smart, location-optimal growth that rejects unsuitable projects.
- Direct Tax Relief for Citizens: None of the revenue generated through the High Impact Data Center (HIDC) designation process enters the state general revenue fund, and host county budgets cannot be negatively impacted. By law, 50 percent of project revenue is dedicated directly to reducing and ultimately eliminating the State Personal Income Tax. Local host counties receive 30 percent for schools and government operations, 10 percent is distributed across all remaining West Virginia counties, and 10 percent is allocated to local water, wastewater, and electrical infrastructure upgrades.
- Ratepayer Protection: House Bill 2014 shields families and small businesses from utility cost increases. Under the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, developers must build, bring, or procure their own energy resources and fully fund their own infrastructure and microgrid costs. Utility customers will not bear construction, operational, or grid upgrade expenses, allowing strategic development to help modernize the grid and drive down residential rates over time.
- Water Asset Protection: Full environmental oversight under the Water Resources Protection and Management Act and WVDEP regulations remains fully intact. To further safeguard resources, the state is pioneering a shift toward next-generation technologies – including closed-loop systems, liquid immersion cooling, and reclaimed water integration – positioning West Virginia as a national leader in Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE).
- Community Leadership & Local Oversight: A Data Center Advisory Council, comprising experts from local government, academia, conservation groups, industry, and utilities, will conduct meetings to recommend statewide standards for setbacks, noise mitigation, site security, and proximity to sensitive areas. Projects will rely on voluntary market transactions, require explicit burden-mitigation strategies for nearby properties, and must strictly adhere to all environmental regulations under West Virginia Code Chapter 22.
- Grid Reliability & Asset Integration: Developers must coordinate capacity requirements directly with utilities and comply with regional PJM, FERC, and NERC reliability frameworks. Facilities will operate under a structured demand-response model, utilizing on-site backup generation or curtailing power during peak stress periods to act as net assets to the grid and safeguard system resilience for surrounding communities.
- National Defense & Economic Security: Hyperscale facilities serve as foundational infrastructure in the global competition for leadership in artificial intelligence and advanced computing. Expanding domestic computational capacity within West Virginia secures critical digital infrastructure against strategic foreign adversaries like the People’s Republic of China, directly strengthening national security while catalyzing high-tech economic ecosystems at home.
“This shared framework gives us the exact blueprint we need to attract billions in private investment, create thousands of high-paying construction and technology jobs, lower taxes for our citizens, and revitalize economically distressed regions, all while preserving the wild and wonderful state we call home,” Governor Morrisey concluded.
For more information on the West Virginia Responsible Data Center Development Plan or House Bill 2014, visit the West Virginia Department of Commerce website.
