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Dive Brief:
- Penzance, a Washington, DC-based real estate owner, operator and developer, will invest $4 billion to build a data center in West Virginia, according to a news release from Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office.
- Under construction, the facility will total approximately 1.9 million square feet and provide 600 megawatts of critical computing capacity. The entire campus sits on 548 acres in Berkeley County’s Falling Waters district, the release said, just over an hour’s drive from Virginia’s data center alley.
- West Virginia will not allocate any state funding to the project. Instead, the investment represents private capital choosing West Virginia because of the state’s business climate and energy strategy, according to the release.
Diving knowledge:
The project is located in the state’s Eastern Panhandle, just a short drive from Loudoun County, Virginia. The stretch, called Data Center Alley, has the greater concentration of data centers globally
The development highlights West Virginia’s intent to become a powerhouse for artificial intelligence and cloud computing, Morrisey said in the statement.
“This $4 billion is a historic win that demonstrates West Virginia can compete at the highest level for the global technology economy,” Morrisey said. “This project brings a massive new revenue stream to our communities, all powered by private capital and our commitment to a reliable and business-friendly energy strategy.”
Penzance ultimately selected the West Virginia site because of the state’s Energy Generation and Consumption Act and the House bill of 2002. The legislation streamlines permits, expands the use of microgrids, and allows companies to use coal, natural gas and other reliable energy sources. This type of regulatory environment eliminates bureaucratic barriers and accelerates development, according to the release.
“West Virginia has created a truly business-friendly environment for companies investing in digital infrastructure,” said Victor Tolkan, managing partner and founder of Penzance. “Governor Morrisey has championed policies that position the state as a leader in the data economy.”
Easy regulation terms rank as a major draw for potential data center projects.
In Arkansas, for example, AVAIO Digital cited the streamlined state process as a major factor behind their decision to build a $6 billion project there. The Trump administration also pushed an initiative last summer expedite federal permits and unlock financial incentives for large-scale data center builds.
The Penzance project activity in West Virginia will generate about 1,000 construction jobs, with room for additional growth as the campus expands, according to the release.
“I’m very optimistic about this project,” said Berkeley County Commission Chairman Eddie Gochenour. “We have already identified a significant opportunity to potentially use reclaimed water, which will reduce costs for the company, save taxpayer money for the county and preserve our vital natural resources.”
