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Power and the Purse: Debate breaks out over West Virginia amendments to Form Energy loan bill

By Steven Allen Adams 5 min read

CHARLESTON -- A debate among mostly Republicans in the West Virginia House of Delegates broke out Thursday over whether to provide taxpayer dollars for a proposed battery manufacturing project for Weirton.

The House voted down two amendments Thursday afternoon to House Bill 2882, a supplemental appropriations bill introduced on behalf of Gov. Jim Justice this year to reappropriate $115 million out of available surplus tax dollars and send those dollars to the state Department of Economic Development. The bill will be up for passage Friday morning.

Of that $115 million, $10 million would be dedicated to the department's broadband expansion projects, and $105 million would be dedicated for the Economic Development Project Fund for the Massachusetts-based Form Energy proprietary iron-air battery manufacturing project on the site of Weirton Steel.

But the bill didn't sit well with some Republican lawmakers Thursday. A motion was made to separate out the two appropriations in the bill to vote on them separately, but the motion failed. Another failed amendment would have transferred the $105 million to the Water Development Authority.

More than 90 minutes was spent debating an amendment from Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, to remove the $105 million appropriations for the Form Energy project altogether. The debate involved 22 speakers out of the 95 House members present -- nine speakers for the amendment and 13 speakers against the amendment -- before the amendment failed 25-70.

McGeehan has been a vocal skeptic of the Form Energy project. He wrote a letter to the company on Jan. 24 seeking more information on the company's structure and foreign investors. The company has since announced no current ties to Chinese or Saudi Arabian investors. Form has several celebrity investors, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amazon found Jeff Bezos.

Speaking Thursday, McGeehan expressed further skepticism regarding Form's job creation claims and economic impact studies of the project conducted by West Virginia University's Bureau of Business and Economic Research. McGeehan and others cited comments from Form Energy officials stating their intent is for their batteries to eliminate the need for fossil fuel energy production.

"I'm not sold on this, because there seems to be a lack of credibility amongst different parties," McGeehan said. "The reason why this enterprise violates the common good … is if you've researched this and looked into this, you'll realize that the people managing, operating, and raising the funds along with the financial backers of this company are intent on eliminating our way of life."

"We're going to be voting for Keynesian socialism, and make no mistake about it, that's what this is," said Del. Bill Ridenour, R-Jefferson. "We're betting on a technology that we don't know is going to be valid … I really don't like the fact that we're putting our economy increasingly in the hands of anti-fossil fuel, ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) companies who have a stranglehold over our economy."

Republican House members opposed to McGeehan's amendment said HB 2882 was not about picking clean energy over the state's fossil fuel industry. It was about creating 750 jobs and breathing new life into an area once known for its steel mills and creating a new manufacturing renaissance in the Weirton area.

"For 60 years or there abouts, the Weirton Steel Company paid the highest taxes and employed the most people in the State of West Virginia than anywhere else … This is our chance to get back to doing what we do best," said Del. Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock.

"On this particular thing, we have a chance to create jobs in the Weirton area," said House Energy and Manufacturing Committee Chairman Bill Anderson, R-Wood. "They're going to be created somewhere. Other states will embrace this and say 'come to us.' But they're willing to make an investment. The message we send today is when our (Department of Economic Development Secretary Mitch Carmichael) negotiates what I believe to be a good deal for this state, are we going to cut the floor out from underneath him and walk away from it?"

The McGeehan amendment was also opposed by all present members of the 12-member House Democratic Caucus.

"This facility on 55 acres in the Northern Panhandle will revitalize what is basically a ghost town and turn it into good jobs," said House Minority Whip Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio. "If you pass this amendment, you're saying you don't want to compete with the rest of the country. We have an opportunity through this Form Energy project to bring in these jobs."

The Economic Development Authority has already approved a $75 million economic incentive package from the Economic Development Project Fund for the project. The state will provide another $110 million to Form Energy once the project is complete. Form is putting in $350 million up front to get the project started.

The initial $75 million from the state was used to purchase more than 50 acres at the former Weirton Steel site. The state is also using an asset-based lending approach for the project with the Weirton Steel site as collateral. As the Weirton Steel buildings are improved and renovated, the state will retain ownership of the land and buildings as a backstop to guarantee the state's investment.

The new Form Energy facility will be a $760 million investment in West Virginia with the goal of creating as many as 750 jobs. In order to qualify for a loan through the Economic Development Project Fund, a company must invest more than $50 million of their own money before being eligible for the loan and agree to create at least 200 jobs.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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