Morrisey signs priority bill meant to incentivize data centers, microgrids locating in WV
Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Wednesday signed into law a bill that, if things go the way he and other legislators hope, is meant to encourage data centers to locate in West Virginia and generate their own power sources through microgrids.
House Bill 2014 — dubbed the Power Generation and Consumption Act — was one of the more complicated bills to make it through the 2025 regular session. It was a late edition to Morrisey's legislative agenda, being introduced on March 18 — more than halfway through the 60-day session.
The bill was subject to dozens of amendments as it made its way through both the House and Senate, including changes to how taxes collected on data centers would be distributed, policies regarding how microgrids would operate and requirements for those microgrids, as well as other utilities. The bill initially passed the House on April 1. After more changes in the Senate, lawmakers there approved their own version on April 11.
On the final night of session, the two chambers did find compromise on an even different version of the bill, with the House passing the amended version 82-16 with two members absent and not voting. The Senate concurred with the House's changes to the legislation and voted yet again to pass the legislation, sending it to Morrisey's desk for signage.
Those who voted against HB 2014 in both chambers shared concerns over the potential for electric rate increases if the bill were to pass. They also voiced discontent with measures that removed local control and enforcement of certain regulations for counties and municipalities where data centers could be built.
The version of the bill that now stands as law is aimed at recruiting the establishment of data centers in West Virginia. It allows any data centers that do locate here to curtail local zoning ordinances and other regulatory processes and establishes a certified microgrid program, which means data centers can produce and use their own power without attaching to already existing utilities.
The law also creates a specialized tax structure for data centers and microgrids, which must be placed in designated districts. Local governments have little say or control over those districts, which are established at the state level.
Taxes collected on any data centers and microgrids operating in West Virginia would be split as so: 50% will go to the personal income tax reduction fund, 30% will go to the county where the data center is located, 10% will go to the remaining 54 counties split on a per capita basis using the most recent U.S. Census, 5% will be placed in the Economic Enhancement Grant Fund administered by the Water Development Authority and the final 5% will be put in the newly created Electric Grid Stabilization and Security Fund.
That fund is meant to help existing utilities develop and maintain infrastructure for continued generation and transmission of coal-fired and natural gas-fueled power.
Morrisey signed the bill in Point Pleasant on Wednesday, right outside the future site of the Fidelis Monarch AI Data Center Campus.
'In order for West Virginia to reach its potential, we must continue to focus on economic development and utilizing our many natural resources,' Morrisey said. 'The Power Generation and Consumption Act will make West Virginia the most attractive state in the country for data centers and help America better compete with China in the technology arms race of the future.'
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