(Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Corner - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Residents of West Virginia are seeking answers to their questions about proposed data centers/ power plants in their communities. These include a 500-acre data center in Tucker County, the 150-acre ammonia plant and 200,000-square-foot data center which are part of the Adams Fork Energy project on the Logan-Mingo county line, and the Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) project in Mason County. The center proposed in Mason County will “include a power plant, hydrogen production facility, carbon dioxide storage facility, and data center complex.”

There are no federal regulations concerning data centers. However, “in April, Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed House Bill 2014, a law designed to ease in-state data center development in part by prohibiting counties and municipalities from enforcing or adopting regulations that limit creation, development, or operation of any certified microgrid district or high-impact data center project.” Morrisey hailed HB 2014 as the economic development highlight of the West Virginia Legislature’s 2025 regular legislative session.

Unlike politicians, citizens in the state are not convinced that these centers will bring significant economic prosperity to the region. There has been a sharp increase nationally in communities’ resistance to host a data center. Data Center Watch, a company that tracks data center opposition, found from May 2024 to March 2025, local opposition had blocked or delayed a total of $64 billion in data center projects, with six blocked entirely and 10 delayed. From March to June of 2025, $98 billion worth of projects were blocked or delayed. There were over 1,600 citizen comments and most were against the gas turbine-powered data center operation in Tucker County.

Citizens are worried about several issues when it comes to data enters: increases in energy costs, increases in water usage, exposure to toxic substances, and loss of jobs due to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some projections show that data center energy consumption could double or triple by 2028, accounting for up to 12% of U.S. electricity use. About 56 percent of the electricity used to power data centers is sourced from fossil fuels, and for our region that will mean more fracking for methane gas. Significant amounts of water are needed for cooling purposes. “A study by the International Energy Agency estimates for illustration that a 100-megawatt U.S. data center would consume roughly the same amount of water as 2,600 households.” Additionally, these data centers also use large quantities of PFAS-gas or f-gas chemicals in the cooling phase and in manufacturing some semiconductors. These compounds have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease, and a range of other serious health problems. Finally, citizens fear job losses as AI takes over many entry level positions. “Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a May Axios interview that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level, white-collar jobs within the next five years.”

President Trump is considering an executive order directing the Justice Department to override local regulations and state control of data centers and AI.

The project in Mason County is a “Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage,” and will span 2300 acres when completed and will be powered by burning wood chips. The air permit states 106 tons of wood chips per hour will be combusted. The first question that might come to mind is what trees will be cleared to supply 106 tons per hour? Possibly from the Wayne National Forest which is located just across the river in Ohio.

The air permit for Mason County, which has already been submitted to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, shows the levels of hazardous air pollutants will be 24 tons per year. This plant, as well as the Mingo County facility, will be employing carbon dioxide capturing technology. According to a review of the permit for the Mason County plant, “The carbon capture unit has the potential to emit VOC and volatile organic hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) from the carbon capture unit. These HAPs emissions are in the form of nitrosamines, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde.” These compounds are classified as probable human carcinogens.

Carbon capture and sequestration is a relatively new technology used to sequester carbon dioxide emissions. The carbon dioxide will be collected via an absorption process, compressed, and then injected into Class VI injection wells. Since these wells will be off-site, pipelines will be used to transport the supercritical fluid from the Mason site to the wells.

Currently, the United State Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for permitting Class VI wells. However, West Virginia is one of a few states that has applied for and received primacy to regulate Class VI wells at the state level. Part of the application process requires documented proof that public participation activities were solicited prior to submission of the permit application.

Carbon dioxide, a known asphyxiant, is a dense gas and considered to be hazardous by the OSHA Hazard Communications Standard (29 CFR). It is physiologically active, and affects circulation and breathing. It can accumulate in topographically low areas under conditions of low wind and can travel large distances when released from a ruptured pipeline. It is injected at 1000 psi and can expand to 500 times its volume when exposed to atmospheric pressures. This was evidenced in the pipeline rupture in Satartia, Miss., which sent 45 people to the hospital. How will the mostly volunteer fire departments in West Virginia be able to handle a pipeline break or a leaking Class VI well?

Once again, the communities of West Virginia are being targeted by big out-of-state industries that will make money at the expense of the environment and citizens’ health. Sadly, as usual, the state politicians are welcoming data centers and new power plants which means more extraction and water usage with a promise of questionable local jobs.

***

Randi Pokladnik, Ph.D., of Uhrichsville, is a retired research chemist who volunteers with Mid Ohio Valley Climate Action. She has a doctorate degree in environmental studies and is certified in hazardous materials regulations.