(Editorial - Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

This week’s announcement that Nscale plans a large acquisition and development in Mason County is an encouraging step in the right direction as elected officials and policymakers continue their efforts to attract large employers to our state.

London-based Nscale is set to acquire American Intelligence and Power Corp., which includes the Monarch Compute Campus north of Point Pleasant. There, it is expected to build one of the largest AI facilities in the world.

“Nscale is a global company, and the U.S. is the world’s largest AI infrastructure market. AI infrastructure needs to be built where demand is, and right now a significant share of that demand is in the United States,” said Josh Payne, Nscale CEO. “Monarch allows us to meet that demand. The acquisition builds on our existing U.S. footprint and reflects the pace at which we are scaling to serve customers around the world.”

This time around, the announcement comes with the potential for the center to eventually employ approximately 2,800 people, and a partnership with Marshall University that would develop training and apprenticeship programs so local residents may be first in line for engineering and facility management roles. That’s important.

Provided Nscale proves to be responsible about mitigating potential environmental concerns, THIS is the kind of economic development announcement about which we can get excited.

“Things are starting to come together,” said state Del. Scot Heckert, R-Wood. And he is right that such efforts require momentum that comes from stakeholders working together.

“We plant the seed and then see how the crop grows,” he said.

While they keep planting, the rest of us will be looking forward to what grows in Mason County — and perhaps inspires others to consider the Mountain State, too.