Powering West Virginia's Next Economy
Intelligence centers — the advanced data facilities driving AI, cloud services, and the modern digital economy — are coming to West Virginia. Here are clear, factual answers to the concerns most often raised about what they mean for our water, our communities, and our wallets.
West Virginia has a generational opportunity to compete for billions in private investment, thousands of jobs, and a stronger tax base for every county. That opportunity depends on giving companies the regulatory certainty they need to build here instead of somewhere else — while keeping every environmental, utility, and public-safety protection fully in place.
Below, we separate fact from fiction on the five questions we hear most.
Myth vs. Reality
Quick, clear answers to the most common concerns
Each card below pairs a common myth with the facts, including the laws, numbers, and comparisons that put the issue in context.
Water Usage
Intelligence centers will drain West Virginia's water.
- They will consume billions of gallons every year — far more than any industry in the state.
- Their cooling systems waste water permanently — what goes in does not come back out.
- They will compete with families and farms for drinking water.
- West Virginia simply cannot supply that kind of demand.
Water use is technology-driven and small compared to existing industries.
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Many facilities use little or no water at all:
- Air-cooling systems use zero water
- Closed-loop systems recirculate and reuse the same water
- Some facilities run on recycled or non-potable water sources
- Even high-end estimates are small in context — see the comparison below.
- A mid-sized intelligence center using roughly 300,000 gallons per day uses less water than a typical 18-hole golf course.
| Industry | Annual water use |
|---|---|
| Intelligence center (1 GW evaporative, high-end) | ≈ 1.09 billion gal |
| Mining | 13.5 billion gal |
| Chemical industry | 131.7 billion gal |
| Thermoelectric industry | 375.7 billion gal |
Bottom line: Water impact is manageable and far smaller than the major legacy industries already operating in West Virginia.
Environmental Standards
Intelligence centers are exempt from environmental protections.
- HB 2014 carves out a special exemption from state and federal environmental laws.
- These facilities will not need air-quality permits.
- Water discharge from data centers goes unregulated.
- West Virginia weakened its environmental rules to attract these projects.
Nothing in HB 2014 or its rules exempts intelligence centers from any state or federal environmental law.
- State environmental permitting and enforcement remain fully in place
- Water discharge permits are still required
- Federal Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act standards still apply
- Air quality standards still apply
Bottom line: Zoning certainty is not environmental deregulation. Every environmental law still applies.
Local Control
The state is forcing intelligence centers on counties and eliminating local control.
- This is environmental deregulation in disguise.
- Counties get nothing in return for hosting an intelligence center.
- No community in West Virginia wants these projects.
- Air, water, and consumer protections have been stripped away.
HB 2014 provides siting certainty because billion-dollar projects will not come to a state where a patchwork of overlapping local ordinances can delay or block development.
- Many communities want the statewide tax relief and shared revenue
- State-level siting authority provides the consistency and certainty needed for large-scale investment that benefits the entire state
- This is not deregulation — environmental standards, air and water laws, and utility cost protections all still apply
Large-scale investments require predictable rules. When approvals can be overturned by shifting local politics, companies invest elsewhere — and they have been. Other states are already capturing billions in private investment, expanding their tax bases, strengthening schools, and upgrading infrastructure while less competitive states fall behind.
Bottom line: Without regulatory certainty, these projects do not come — and neither do the jobs, revenue, tax relief, or infrastructure investment.
Electricity Costs
Intelligence centers will drive up your electric bill.
- Residential rates will climb to subsidize data-center power.
- Grid expansion costs will be passed to West Virginia families.
- These facilities will strain the grid and cause outages.
- New power plants built for data centers mean ratepayers foot the bill.
Large, stable customers can help stabilize or lower costs — and they must pay for their own build-out.
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When fixed costs get spread out:
- Utilities recover grid costs regardless of demand
- More electricity sold means costs are spread over more kilowatt-hours
- Per-unit cost pressure on households can decline
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HB 2014 protects ratepayers:
- Utilities cannot pass microgrid construction costs to existing customers
- Transmission upgrades must be borne by the intelligence center
- New generation infrastructure must be funded by the project
- Grid interconnection costs cannot be shifted to households
- 24/7 demand helps finance new power generation, supports grid investment, drives economies of scale, and strengthens overall grid stability
Bottom line: If new electricity infrastructure is required, the project pays — not families, and not small businesses.
Where Does the Money Go?
The state keeps 75% of the money.
- Counties see almost nothing from the projects they host.
- The state hoards the revenue for general spending.
- This is not real tax relief — it is a political talking point.
- The money disappears into bureaucracy, not back to taxpayers.
The revenue is broadly distributed and reinvested back into West Virginians, their counties, and their infrastructure.
- Local schools come first
- Your county keeps real money
- Lower taxes for every West Virginian
Most of it stays close to home
Local schools come first
In most West Virginia counties, the single largest share of data center property tax goes directly to local school excess levies — funding teachers, classrooms, and school facilities in the same community where the center is built.
Your county keeps real money
A guaranteed share lands in the host county itself — paying for emergency services, road maintenance, and local government services that residents see and use every day.
Lower taxes for every West Virginian
A meaningful portion flows into a fund dedicated to cutting personal income taxes statewide — meaning lower taxes for families in every corner of the state, not just counties hosting data centers.
How the state Distribution Fund is divided
About half of every property tax dollar from a data center flows into a state Distribution Fund. Here is how that fund is allocated:
A reinvestment strategy — not a revenue hoard
Half of the Distribution Fund returns directly to taxpayers through income tax reduction. The rest strengthens host counties, all 55 counties, and the infrastructure West Virginians depend on every day.
Statewide infrastructure grants help fund:
- Water and sewer upgrades
- Industrial site development
- Community infrastructure projects
Power grid funding supports:
- Grid planning and reliability
- Infrastructure upgrades
- Long-term system resilience
The exact split between local schools, county government, and the state Distribution Fund varies by county based on local school and bond levies. See the county-by-county breakdown →
The Bigger Opportunity
Intelligence centers are a chance to diversify West Virginia's economy, modernize infrastructure, and put real money back in every resident's pocket.
Eliminate the Income Tax
A realistic pathway to phase out West Virginia's personal income tax entirely.
High-Wage Careers
Hundreds of permanent jobs averaging roughly $100,000 per year.
Construction Jobs
Thousands of construction jobs lasting years during build-out.
Economic Diversification
Growth beyond legacy industries into the digital economy.
Modernized Grid
New investment in generation, transmission, and long-term reliability.
West Virginia can compete nationally — but only if decisions are based on facts, not fear.
Learn more about HB 2014 and the state's intelligence center framework.