POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. – West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey recently signed into law two bills that are meant to encourage data centers to locate to West Virginia and generate their own power sources through microgrids.
Morrisey signed House Bill 2014, the Power Generation and Consumption Act, and House Bill 2002, creating a one-stop shop permitting process. Both pieces of legislation were introduced on the behalf of Governor Morrisey and are key components of his economic agenda.
“In order for West Virginia to reach its potential, we must continue to focus on economic development and utilizing our many natural resources,” said Governor Morrisey. “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. Combined with the one-stop shop permitting bill, companies will now be able to quickly build, expand, and increase job creation right here in West Virginia.”
Governor Morrisey signed the bills in Point Pleasant near the future site of the Fidelis 2,000-plus acre Monarch AI Data Center Campus – a development project that the legislation is designed to attract. Both of Governor Morrisey’s bills are touted by the business community and higher education institutions which are working to create jobs and opportunities for West Virginians.
House Bill 2014, the Power Generation and Consumption Act, creates a certified microgrid program in West Virginia to expand microgrid development, utilize coal and natural gas resources, and reinvest in West Virginia by creating funds to lower the income tax, provide funding for economic development, and stabilize the electric grid.
House Bill 2002 creates the One-Stop Shop Permitting Program, including providing for the creation of a Permitting Dashboard to operate as a “one-stop-shop” for obtaining and renewing qualifying business permits, streamlining the permitting process in West Virginia.
Tagged with data centers