'Business-friendly culture': Data centers attracted to WV, but local opposition exists

Huntington, West Virginia, is central to a region poised for significant data center development, with projections for up to four large and one smaller data center within a 90-minute drive across West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. Dan Shapiro, Chief Power and Energy Officer of Nscale Energy & Power, highlighted several factors drawing developers, including the advantages of data center clusters for communication and the region's climate, with cold winters and mild summers, which reduces operating costs by minimizing power needed for cooling. The area's abundant energy resources are a key draw, particularly the proximity to natural gas pipelines for on-site power generation. Hope Gas announced a $250 million investment to construct a 30-mile pipeline. This infrastructure project is intended to supply Nscale's Monarch Compute Campus near Point Pleasant, Mason County, as well as provide natural gas service to residences and businesses in the Point Pleasant area, addressing what Shapiro termed a "gas desert." The Monarch Compute Campus is part of a larger 2,300-acre Monarch AI Data Center System, which will also include an expansion campus. Additionally, the article notes the development of the Fidelis and Babcock & Wilcox’s BrightLoop facility at the Mountaineer GigaSystem Site near Point Pleasant, slated to provide power to the Monarch AI Data Center System. Although the article's title mentions local opposition to data centers, the text does not detail any specific actions or groups involved in this opposition.