West Virginia's Raleigh County Commission has indefinitely suspended a data center proposal.
The data center was to be developed between Flat Top Road and Joe Cooper Farm Road in Shady Spring, but is no longer under consideration with the County citing a lack of information as the reason.
The commission was set to consider the proposal on January 9, including a request from Greenbrier Land Development Company to rezone more than 700 acres of land.
Commissioners want to hear more information about the availability of infrastructure on the property, as well as from the West Virginia Division of Highways officials.
The decision to indefinitely postpone was announced by Commission President David Tolliver, who also noted that the December 21 meeting between County Planning and Zoning and residents had become so heated that Beckley Police Department officials were called to keep the peace.
The data center development is for an anonymous company which cannot be named due to a non-disclosure agreement, but would consist of an eight-building campus within the 727-acre area. For the development to go ahead, wooded and residential land would need to be rezoned.
The data center buildings will not be within 300 ft of any residences, and the complex will have its main entrance on Flat Top Road, situated between Shady Elementary School and Shady Middle School, and another entrance on Joe Cooper Farm Road.
Estimates suggest that the development could bring around 600 jobs to the area.
Residents noted concerns about the noise pollution and the development's impact on a currently rural and residential area.
“The amount of noise that this data center could bring, between 55 and 85 decibels of noise, which is basically your lawn mower running in your living room 24/7,” said Matthew Ogle, a local. “A lot of people have decided to move into the Shady Spring area because of its peaceful atmosphere, the school district, the schools that are available for your kids...I came from Texas, all the way from San Antonio, to move in that area specifically.”
At that meeting, the County Planning and Zoning Department recommended approval of the development, citing the potential tax benefits (72 percent of which would go to the local Board of Education) as ultimately outweighing residents' concerns.
Despite that recommendation for approval, the County Commission has decided to indefinitely table the proposal until more information is shared. The commission intends to "learn more about the data center and possible impacts to residents" and to work with the current land owner of the site to brainstorm other potential developments.
President Tolliver said that the Commission will alert the public if a meeting is rescheduled in the future.
West Virginia is not a major data center market, unlike that of neighboring state, Virginia. In August 2023, Fidelis Energy proposed a 1GW hydrogen-powered data center campus in the state, to be located in Mason County which lies on the border of Ohio.
