Latest news with #HB2014
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
West Virginia: Stop trying to make data centers happen
A giant data center has been proposed to be located between Thomas and Davis, West Virginia, near tourist destinations like Blackwater Falls State Park. (Lori Kersey | West Virginia Watch) When people refer to West Virginia as 'Almost Heaven,' we think of the beautiful, quiet scenic areas like Black Water Falls, Canaan Valley and Dolly Sods, all in Tucker County. However, our lawmakers just see money signs — and not very many of them. Gov. Patrick Morrisey recently signed into law House Bill 2014 — one of his key priorities — which created the state's microgrid program to encourage data centers to come to the Mountain State. Residents in Tucker County are already fighting a proposed data center. A Virginia company, Fundamental Data, has applied for an air permit from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for the 'Ridgeline Facility.' It includes an off-the-grid natural gas power plant between Thomas and Davis, which will likely power the giant data center proposed for a site just a mile away from the county's most heavily populated and tourist-attracting areas. A microgrid is a small power plant that is usually attached to a larger national grid, but runs independently to power things like a college campus, hospital complex or, in this case, a data center. West Virginia's new law allows 'high impact data centers' to curtail local zoning ordinances, meaning their microgrids don't have to attach to existing utilities. HB 2014, as requested by Morrisey, originally included provisions that would have required electric utilities with coal fired plants to operate at a higher capacity — 69% compared to 40% — and hold a 45-day supply of coal on hand at all times, while most only stockpile a 30-day supply. Lawmakers saw this bill as an opportunity to boost the state's coal industry, but power companies said it would be difficult to meet those standards. Not only that, but meeting those standards would have raised electricity rates for customers. The bill was amended dozens of times and passed without those standards, and Morrisey signed it into law. Now residents of Tucker County are worried about a proposed data center taking away from the serene beauty of their home. As someone who grew up in Poca just across the river from the coal-powered John E. Amos Power Plant, I understand why you wouldn't want a new one to pop up near your home. It's never quiet — you can hear the beep beep beep of equipment backing up all night and the banging of construction, and when the towers release steam, it sounds like the end of the world (at least it did when I first heard it as a child). And coal definitely keeps the lights on at the plant 24/7. In Virginia, which has the largest data center market in the world, there are local noise and lighting ordinances to protect residents. West Virginia residents won't have the same protections. My dad said during the 1970s, before air pollution was taken more seriously, ash from the John Amos plant would be all over the place in the mornings. Sometime in the 1990s, everyone on our street noticed spots on their cars that messed up the paint. My dad said the air pollution commission ran some tests on the spots that indicated they came from the power plant. It only happened that one time, dad said, but it was worrisome then and it's something to think about now as the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations. For instance, the Department of Justice has been told to block states from enforcing their own regulations on coal — because President Donald Trump wants to revive 'beautiful, clean coal.' Not only are power plants loud, but data centers are as well. They create noise pollution, typically a low humming sound, which is the cooling system that must run constantly to keep the temperatures down. Many data centers also use a diesel powered back-up system in case they lose power, and those must be tested monthly. These generators can run between 85 and 100 dBA — 85 dBA is when hearing can be harmed. So why are we putting up with this noise? It must be because it'll bring lots of jobs to the state, right? Not likely. Data centers are just buildings full of computers, and are largely automated. You ever wonder where the stuff you save on the cloud is stored, where the computers that make AI art are or where bitcoin is mined? In a data center. Some facilities employ only 50 people. Most data center jobs come from the construction of the facilities, and are often contracted from out-of-state. Aside from data centers not bringing jobs, they could cost ratepayers more money. Virginia has proposed two transmission lines for their data centers, and the lines could cost West Virginians more than $440 million, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis The two transmission lines, both of which cut through West Virginia, were proposed to help with growing demand for electricity from data centers. PJM's transmission cost allocation methodology charges all ratepayers for the transmission infrastructure because it assumes that the 'regional transmission costs could not be attributed to a single new user or class of users.' However the most recent Regional Transmission Expansion Plan processes shows that's not the case. While West Virginia is trying to use Virginia as an example on data centers, the state isn't doing it the same way with regulations and protections. 'What you're going to get if you do it this way is the worst players, the ones that didn't need to be in Northern Virginia,' said Julie Bolthouse, director of land use at Piedmont Environmental Council in Virginia. '… the players that are wanting that lack of regulations because they didn't want to abide by rules and didn't want to or need to protect communities, which is worse for West Virginia and the communities. What West Virginia is doing is not what Virginia is doing.' If lawmakers are serious about bringing data centers to the state, then they need to be serious about the consequences and set better regulations to protect residents who want to enjoy wild, wonderful West Virginia without noise cancelling headphones. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Morrisey signs priority bill meant to incentivize data centers, microgrids locating in WV
Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed House Bill 2014, the Power Generation and Consumption Act, into law on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Point Pleasant, near the future site of the Fidelis 2,000-plus acre Monarch AI Data Center Campus. (West Virginia Office of Gov. Patrick Morrisey | Courtesy photo) 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.'
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Questions and concerns raised over proposed Davis power plant
DAVIS (WBOY) — More than 200 people attended a Davis town hall meeting Sunday afternoon to discuss a proposed power plant in the Davis and Thomas area. The sentiment of the proposed 500-acre facility was largely negative, with residents and non-residents citing concerns over pollution, water usage, health risks, noise pollution and light pollution. However, one of the biggest sticking points is the apparent secrecy around the project. Both residents and officials were caught off guard by the power plant. Davis Mayor Alan Tomson said he and county officials learned about the project just 10 days before the meeting. What we know about the proposed power plant in Tucker County Several pieces of information in an air quality permit application, like how much fuel the turbines at the plant would use and projected amounts of pollutants they would create, were redacted. Fundamental Data, the company behind the power plant, also has no internet presence and is essentially a complete unknown. 'It is part of the plan and part of the design that we don't have answers to fundamental questions,' one person said during the town hall. 'Otherwise, there would not be wholesale redactions.' The application for the power plant was filed the same day that House Bill 2014 was introduced to the West Virginia House of Delegates. The bill explicitly prohibits any county or municipality from enacting rules, laws or ordinances that 'limit, in any way, the creation of, […] and operation of any certified microgrid district or certified high impact data center project.' HB 2014 was signed into law on Saturday, the day before Davis' town hall took place. Now, Davis, Thomas, and any other community in West Virginia will find their ability to fight or prevent other microgrids severely restricted. 'I want to ask [state legislators] if they have so little disregard for local opinion. That people, local leaders were not involved in the process whatsoever,' Mayor Tomson told 12 News in an interview. 'To be able to take all control and authority away from the local leadership when you have really impactful projects that are going into those local areas.' 12 News recorded the entire two and a half hour meeting; you'll be able to find that recording at the bottom of this story on Monday evening. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WV House passes amended version of Morrisey's microgrid, data center bill sans requirements for coal
Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison, urges his colleagues in the House to vote in support of House Bill 2014. The bill passed the House 88-12 on Tuesday and now heads to the Senate for consideration. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography) The West Virginia House approved a priority bill pushed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Tuesday that is meant to incentivize the creation of microgrids and data centers in the state. Members of the House voted 88-12 in support of House Bill 2014. Republican Dels. Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer; Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio and Jordan Bridges, R-Logan, joined the chamber's nine Democrats in voting against it. The bill now heads to the Senate for introduction and consideration. The bill's passage in the House came one day before a deadline that requires all bills to be passed out of their chamber of origin in order for them to be considered by the other chamber and sent to the governor's desk by the final night of session on April 12. HB 2014 — dubbed as the Power Generation and Consumption Act — will allow companies seeking to build data centers to create their own, independent energy grids to power them. Data centers are large facilities that house vast computer systems used for cloud storage, artificial intelligence computing and telecommunications; the centers require massive amounts of energy and electricity to run. Through using their own microgrids, proponents for the policy say data centers would be able to operate in West Virginia without overburdening the state's power and utility infrastructure or raising electricity rates for existing residential and commercial customers. Under the proposed bill, the state's certified microgrid program would operate under the newly reorganized Division of Economic Development. Through approval from the division, data companies looking to operate in West Virginia would do so in 'high impact industrial business development microgrid districts.' There, instead of being required to connect to the existing utilities in the region, they would create their own, smaller energy grids with the primary purpose of powering the data centers. Per the bill, 10% of electricity generated by the microgrids but not used by the data centers or industrial facilities would be allowed to be sold on the wholesale market to others nearby, potentially at lower rates than existing utilities currently offer. The initial version of HB 2014 — the one specifically requested by Morrisey — included provisions that would have required electric utilities with coal fired plants to operate at 69% capacity and hold a 45-day supply of coal on hand at all times. Most coal fired power plants in the state operate at an average 40% capacity and stockpile a 30-day supply of coal. Those provisions were meant to support the state's coal industry, but power companies — including Appalachian Power, the state's largest electric utility — said it would be difficult to meet those standards and doing so would have raised rates for existing electric customers in the state. Through a committee substitute for HB 2014 passed by the House Energy and Public Works Committee last week, the coal-backed provisions were removed from the bill and not included in the version passed by the House on Tuesday. In response to concerns raised by House members on the floor Tuesday regarding the potential for the bill to increase utility rates for residential customers, Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison, said he actually believes HB 2014 could lead to savings for residents, though indirectly, through tax revenue generated locally and a fund that will be created by the legislation. I do not believe [HB 2014] is going to increase [customer electric rates],' said Riley, a longtime proponent for data centers in the state and a sponsor of the bill. 'I think it puts more money back in the pockets of citizens of West Virginia, both in terms of ratepaying and in terms of personal income taxes and some of the other things that I think I've seen in there.' Riley said he estimates that roughly $160 million to $200 million will be generated in tax revenue annually for a county that houses a data center and microgrid. Following the payment of property taxes to the appropriate local agencies, other revenue from the data centers and related microgrids will be split between several statewide initiatives, including to: the Personal Income Tax Reduction Fund to offset personal income tax cuts, the Economic Development Closing and Promotion Fund to help recruit more businesses to the state, the Water Development Authority's Economic Enhancement Grant Fund for water and sewage projects, the Department of Human Services' Low Income Energy Assistance Program to help low-income families cover utility bills, the state general revenue fund and the newly created Electronic Grid Stabilization and Security Fund. The Electronic Grid Stabilization and Security Fund, Riley said, could help utility companies cover the cost of maintenance and repairs in their infrastructure that would otherwise be — and often are — baked into customer rate increases. In other words, while that won't directly decrease power costs for residents, it could offset future expenses they would incur. Del. Henry Dillon, R-Wayne, said in addition to limiting future increases for ratepayers, the data centers and microgrids could mean a population and employment bump for the regions they're located in. Jobs will be created while the facilities are being constructed, he said, and after that it's likely that at least some jobs will stay in the areas. That could help decrease another major factor that often leads to utility rate increases: population loss. Dillon said, at first, he shared similar concerns to others worried that this initiative could lead to lackluster results and heavy costs for existing residents. 'But throughout the process of working on this bill … I believe that the governor is going in the right direction here,' Dillon said. 'This is an attempt to innovate. This is an attempt to take a new approach to energy policy in the state, and it's not going to harm our utility companies. It's not going to harm ratepayers, it's not going to harm oil and gas. It's not going to harm coal. I believe that this is a net positive for the state.'
