Boone County WV Data Center Certified Without Public Notice
West Virginia's Department of Commerce approved LM Core Energy Services' certification petition for Project Country Roads, a proposed high-impact AI data center campus near Danville in Boone County. The project could eventually cover thousands of acres and require up to 10 gigawatts of power, while the certification occurred without advance public notice and remains subject to permitting.
The West Virginia Department of Commerce certified LM Core Energy Services' proposed Project Country Roads as a high-impact data center at the former Hobet surface mine north of Danville in Boone County. The phased artificial-intelligence and high-performance-computing campus could span roughly 3,557 acres initially, with planning documents referencing as many as 8,000 acres and potential demand of up to 10 gigawatts. The certification is conditional, and the project still requires environmental, operating-capacity and tax-related approvals.
The certification drew criticism because it was not publicly announced, reflecting confidentiality provisions in West Virginia's 2025 data center law. Delegate Kayla Young said residents cannot appeal projects they do not know about, while state officials and LM Core CEO Jarrette Lewis defended confidentiality before finalization and said community engagement would follow. If the project advances, the state would coordinate public outreach with the Boone County Commission and address anticipated air- and water-permit hearings, while broader concerns remain about local control, utility costs, water resources and grid capacity.