Data Center Site Selection in West Virginia

West Virginia is an energy-producing state looking for new demand. It is the nation’s second-largest coal producer and was the fifth-largest producer of marketed natural gas in 2023, about 95% of it from shale wells.⁷ Coal-fired plants supplied about 88% of in-state utility-scale generation, and West Virginians use only about three-fifths of the electricity the state generates, so the rest flows to neighboring states on the regional grid.⁷

In 2024 the state generated about 50.6 million megawatt-hours from 15,128 MW of net summer capacity.⁹ For a developer, the attraction is not cheap retail power alone but the chance to build next to gas supply and existing high-voltage infrastructure, and to do it under a state law written for that purpose. The trade-offs are rugged terrain, limited flat land, thinner fiber than the Northern Virginia corridor and a politics of local control that is still being argued. Our PJM site selection guide covers the regional market West Virginia’s utilities sit in, and the Virginia guide covers the market next door.

Governor Patrick Morrisey signed House Bill 2014, the Power Generation and Consumption Act, on April 30, 2025, in Point Pleasant, near the planned Monarch campus in Mason County.¹ It was a priority bill, passed alongside House Bill 2002, which was meant to simplify and speed up project permitting.¹ The law creates a statewide certified microgrid program meant to support new on-site power, use coal and natural gas, and fund capacity to stabilize the grid.¹

Legally, the act rebuilt an older program. West Virginia already let certain high impact industrial facilities take renewable power from behind-the-meter generators instead of the regulated utility; the 2025 amendments extended it to high impact data centers and dropped the renewable-only restriction.¹⁰ Microgrid owners can sell 10% of the power they generate into the wholesale market.⁶

The Department of Commerce’s rule, released for comment in November 2025, defines a high impact data center as a facility with a critical IT load of 90 MW or more placed in service after July 1, 2025, and sets out how to petition for certification as a microgrid district and a high impact data center.² In March 2026 the Legislature passed and the governor signed House Bill 4983, which authorizes that rule; it took effect from passage.¹¹ Read the final rule text before scoping a project, since the thresholds in early drafts and press coverage are not always the same. Our microgrids and battery storage guide explains the engineering side.

The most consequential feature for entitlement is preemption. Under the law, certified high impact data centers and microgrids are not subject to county or municipal zoning or land use ordinances, and not subject to local building permits, inspections or code enforcement.³ A project that qualifies does not go through a local rezoning at all.

The bill also redirects property tax. As proposed, property taxes from high impact data centers would be split as follows:⁴

Local officials objected to both the lost revenue and the lost zoning and permitting authority, and residents gathered more than 2,000 petition signatures against the bill.⁴¹ In January 2026 legislators introduced Senate Bill 658 and House Bill 4509 to restore local control over these projects and certain power facilities.⁵ Check the current status of those bills, and the enacted tax distribution, with counsel before relying on either. Preemption removes a hearing, but it does not remove opposition, which now shows up in state permit appeals instead. See our guides on community engagement and property taxes.

The two best-known projects show what West Virginia sites look like in practice. Both are built around natural gas generation rather than utility service.

Monarch was announced by Fidelis New Energy and 8090 Industries and is expected to generate 8 GW from natural gas when fully built.¹² The 2,380-acre campus sits along W.Va. 62, the Ohio River and CSX tracks north of Point Pleasant, and starts with 2 GW of generation plus battery storage sized for AI load swings.¹³ Nscale acquired the project in 2026.¹⁴ River frontage, rail and gas access are the features to look for on similar Ohio Valley parcels, along with the floodplain mapping that comes with river land.

Tucker County shows the other side. The Department of Environmental Protection approved an air permit for Fundamental Data’s proposed Ridgeline gas plant and data center between Davis and Thomas after receiving more than 1,600 comments.¹⁵ Tucker United, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the Sierra Club appealed, and the Air Quality Board upheld the permit in 2026.¹⁶ With local zoning preempted, state air permits became the main venue for opposition.

Former coal plant and mine land can offer transmission, rail, water and industrial history, but reclaimed mine ground needs careful geotechnical investigation, and legacy environmental conditions call for a Phase I ESA. Our onsite generation and natural gas guide covers the generation questions.

Most of West Virginia is served by Appalachian Power (an AEP company) or by FirstEnergy’s Mon Power and Potomac Edison, and all of them sit inside PJM. A project that wants grid service, or a grid backstop for a microgrid, deals with both the utility’s tariff before the West Virginia Public Service Commission and PJM’s planning and capacity market. See PJM capacity prices and data centers.

Appalachian Power asked the Commission for large-load terms, and Google objected to the proposed contract length and minimum purchase obligation.⁸ The PSC’s consumer advocate proposed a compromise modeled on Google’s agreement with Indiana Michigan Power, and Appalachian Power, Google and a group of manufacturers then reached a settlement.⁸ Its main terms:

• A minimum contract capacity of 100 MW at an individual site.⁸
• An initial contract term of at least 12 years.⁸
• A commitment to buy at least 80% of the power the customer expects to use.⁸
• Approval by the Public Service Commission before the terms take effect.⁸

Confirm the approved version with the utility. These terms matter even for microgrid projects, since a project that sells 10% of its output to the wholesale market or wants standby service still needs an interconnection.⁶ Our guide to large-load tariffs and electric service agreements explains minimum bills and exit fees.

1. 01Decide early whether the project will seek certification as a high impact data center (90 MW or more of critical IT load) or take utility service.²
2. 02Map gas pipelines, transmission and the serving utility, and check PJM interconnection timing for any grid tie.
3. 03Measure truly buildable acreage: slopes, mine history, floodplain along the rivers and access roads.
4. 04Plan for state permits, especially air permits for on-site generation, and for public comment and appeals.¹⁵¹⁶
5. 05Track 2026 bills on local control and any changes to the certification rule.⁵¹¹
6. 06If taking utility service, model the Appalachian Power or FirstEnergy large-load terms at your ramp.⁸

The site due diligence checklist and the buildable acreage tool cover the general items. If you hold or are evaluating land in West Virginia, you can get a site reviewed.