WV — State Policy Updated 2026-07-17

West Virginia

A. Sales and use tax exemptions B. Property tax valuation reduction C. High Impact Data Center program D. Proposed (not enacted) incentives — 2025 session E. Proposed (not enacted) incentives and incentive limits... A. State-level moratoriums B. Zoning and local restrictions C. Environmental and water constraints D. Transparency and data-use restrictions Water Constraints

1) Incentive programs

A. Sales and use tax exemptions (statewide)

  • High-technology business exemption (sales/use tax): West Virginia Code §11-15-9h exempts certain sales/use tax on qualifying tangible personal property and services used by a “high-technology business,” which can include data center operators depending on how they meet the statutory definition. WV Code §11-15-9h, current as of 2026-07-17

B. Property tax valuation reduction (statewide)

  • High-Technology Valuation Act: West Virginia Code §11-6J provides a special valuation method for certain high-tech equipment, including servers and related tangible property, and sets salvage value at 5% of original cost for qualifying property. WV Code §11-6J, current as of 2026-07-17

C. High Impact Data Center program (2025; rule authorized in 2026)

  • HB 2014 (2025) created Article 11-6N for “high impact data centers.” It defines a high impact data center as a facility or group of facilities with at least 90 MW of sustained power capacity, creates a special property-tax distribution framework, and sunsets Article 11-6N on December 31, 2055. WV Code §11-6N-2, current as of 2026-07-17; WV Code §11-6N-4, current as of 2026-07-17; WV Code §11-6N-5, current as of 2026-07-17
  • HB 4983 (2026) was enacted and authorized the Department of Commerce legislative rule for certification of a microgrid district or high impact data center, 145 CSR 20. The bill was effective from passage on March 13, 2026 and was approved by the Governor on March 27, 2026. WV Legislature, 2026-03-13; HB 4983 enrolled text, 2026-03-13
  • HB 5168 (2026) was enacted and amended the certified-project statute to require a microgrid or high impact data center to pay county fire- and ambulance-service fees where applicable; it also expressly entitles those projects to county fire and police protection. The Governor approved the bill on April 1, 2026, and it took effect on June 12, 2026. WV Legislature HB 5168 status, 2026-04-01; HB 5168 enrolled text, 2026-03-14
  • First High Impact Intelligence Center designation: On February 26, 2026, the Governor announced that Penzance Management’s Bedington Campus in Berkeley County had received West Virginia’s first “High Impact Intelligence Center” designation after exceeding 90 MW of projected load and submitting engineering, environmental, utility, water, and mitigation materials for state review. WV Governor, 2026-02-26

D. Proposed (not enacted) incentives — 2025 session

E. Proposed (not enacted) incentives and incentive limits — 2026 session

  • SB 623 (2026) proposed the “West Virginia-Powered Data Center Incentive Act,” including a $50 million new-capital-investment threshold, 50 new direct jobs, at least 80% coal-generated electricity for primary operational capacity, salvage-value property-tax treatment, a sales/use tax exemption for qualifying data-center equipment, and utility B&O tax changes. The bill was introduced and referred to Senate Economic Development and Finance, but it did not pass before the regular session adjourned on March 14, 2026. WV Legislature SB 623 status, 2026-01-27; SB 623 introduced text, 2026-01-27
  • HB 4854 (2026) would have prohibited the state or any political subdivision from subsidizing any data center in West Virginia. It was introduced and referred to House Government Organization but did not pass. WV Legislature HB 4854 status, 2026-01-28; HB 4854 introduced text, 2026-01-28
  • HB 4013 (2026) proposed the broader Mountaineer Flexible Tax Credit Act. Its eligible-industry definitions included data-processing activities, subject to at least $2.5 million in qualified investment and 10 new full-time jobs, but the bill remained in House Finance and did not pass. WV Legislature HB 4013 status, 2026-01-15

2) Restrictions and moratoriums

A. State-level moratoriums

B. Zoning and local restrictions (preemption for certified projects)

C. Environmental and water constraints

D. Transparency and data-use restrictions

  • HB 5032 (2026) proposed the “Citizens’ Data Center Transparency Act,” including a ban on data centers being used to support unconstitutional surveillance and an annual operator reporting requirement to the Joint Standing Committee on Technology and Infrastructure. It was introduced and referred to House Judiciary but did not pass. WV Legislature HB 5032 status, 2026-02-02; HB 5032 introduced text, 2026-02-02

3) Local governance

  • State preemption for certified projects remains in place after the 2026 session; no 2026 local-control bill became law. WV Code §5B-2-21b, current as of 2026-07-17; WV Legislature HB 5620 status, 2026-02-16
  • State-level certification rule: HB 4983 authorized 145 CSR 20 for certification of microgrid districts and high impact data centers, preserving the state-level certification pathway rather than returning site approval to local governments. HB 4983 enrolled text, 2026-03-13
  • Community opposition and litigation continued in Tucker County: After the Air Quality Board’s February 2026 ruling, Tucker United, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and Sierra Club filed notices of appeal with the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals and Supreme Court challenging the air-permit decision for the Ridgeline power plant/data-center project. West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, 2026-03-11; Country Roads News, 2026-03-12
  • Mason County construction impacts became a local-government issue when a May 23, 2026 storm caused a breach in a silt-retention area at the Nscale/Monarch Compute Campus construction site, sending water and mud into Meadowlands Estates; local lawmakers said Nscale acknowledged the breach and deployed cleanup and repair contractors. WV MetroNews, 2026-05-24; People, 2026-05-25
  • WVDEP intervened after a second Mason County stormwater incident on July 11. Its July 14 unilateral enforcement order found that overwhelmed controls again released sediment-laden water from the Monarch site, required immediate repairs and stronger controls, and halted land-disturbing work in a separate drainage area until compliance; the developer continued to fund affected-homeowner remediation. WVDEP, 2026-07-14; West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 2026-07-15
  • Berkeley County local opposition emerged around Penzance/Bedington: After the February 2026 announcement, Berkeley County commissioners held a March 20 town hall at Spring Mills High School where more than 300 people attended and residents raised concerns about local-control preemption, water use, eminent domain, flood risk, and rate impacts. The Real WV, 2026-03-23; WV MetroNews, 2026-03-23
  • Putnam County opposition followed Google’s Buffalo-area proposal: after the March project announcement, residents repeatedly raised water, noise, power, tax, and transparency concerns before the Putnam County Commission, including at its April 14 meeting. Putnam County Commission minutes, 2026-04-14; WV News, 2026-06-03
  • Warwood/Wheeling officials corrected an overstated project description after hundreds attended a June 24 town hall about a supposed 100 MW data center. Silicon Foundation subsequently said the former Centre Foundry site would primarily manufacture modular data-center units, that a few modules might use the existing 10 MW connection, and that the earlier 100 MW figure was theoretical rather than an announced high impact data center. The Intelligencer, 2026-06-24; Weirton Daily Times, 2026-06-26; The Intelligencer, 2026-07-02

4) Legislative activity (2024–2026)

5) Notable projects and operators

  • Fundamental Data LLC / Ridgeline, Tucker and Grant counties: Ridgeline remains a proposed power-plant/data-center complex whose described scope reached 5.2 GW. Commerce sent Fundamental a June 18 notice stating that the project appeared to meet the high impact threshold and had missed a certification filing deadline, but rescinded the notice on July 1 after the company said its plans remained conceptual and that it did not then own, operate, or lease the relevant property. On July 16, opponents asked WVDEP to investigate whether the project’s land-control representations affected its air permit; that request was unresolved as of July 17. WV News, 2026-06-19; WBOY via AOL, 2026-07-02; West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, 2026-07-17
  • Monarch Compute Campus / Nscale, Mason County: Nscale announced a deal to acquire American Intelligence & Power Corporation and expand the Monarch Compute Campus, with reported control of up to 2,250 acres, 2 GW of initial power capacity targeted for early 2028, and an expansion target of 8 GW by 2031. WCHS, 2026-03-16; West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 2026-03-17
  • Monarch / Microsoft-linked AI data center: WVPB reported that Nscale secured a Microsoft deal to build and operate an advanced AI data center at the 2,200-acre Mason County campus, with operation expected to begin by late 2027 and more than 2,800 workers expected. West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 2026-03-17
  • Penzance Management / Bedington Campus, Berkeley County: The Governor announced a $4 billion private investment for West Virginia’s first High Impact Intelligence Center on 548 acres in the Falling Waters District. At full buildout, the campus is planned for approximately 1.9 million square feet and 600 MW of critical IT capacity, with approximately 1,000 construction jobs and 125 full-time permanent jobs; the Governor’s release said no state funding was used. WV Governor, 2026-02-26
  • Google / Putnam County: On March 27 the Governor announced that Google had purchased land and received state approval for a multibillion-dollar high impact data center project in Putnam County. The proposal remained in an early planning stage; reporting placed the site on roughly 1,700 acres near Buffalo, and Google launched a project-information website in June while local questions continued. WV Governor, 2026-03-27; WV MetroNews, 2026-03-27; WV News, 2026-06-03
  • Additional undisclosed application: The West Virginia Data Economy Office director said on June 11 that Commerce had received another application for a data center with a microgrid that week, but did not disclose the applicant or location; no public certification decision was located by July 17. WSAZ, 2026-06-12
  • Silicon Foundation / Warwood, Ohio County: The company bought the former Centre Foundry property for $1.5 million and described a multimillion-dollar modular-data-center manufacturing operation. After an initial third-party description suggested a 100 MW data center, the company clarified that no high impact data center was planned and that the site could host only a small number of modules using its existing 10 MW service. Weirton Daily Times, 2026-06-26; The Intelligencer, 2026-07-02

Notes / gaps