Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced development of a big data center, which he called a high impact intelligence center, in West Virginia.
The project coming to 548 acres in Falling Waters, Berkeley County, is spearheaded by the development company Penzance Management, which is a real estate owner, operator, developer and fund manager. It’s been involved with data center development in places like Chantilly, Va., pre-leased to Amazon Web Services.
“We build to suit for hyperscalers. That’s what we do,” Victor Tolkan, managing partner for Penzance, said during an announcement today at the Capitol.
“So we find land, we entitle land, we work with the municipalities, to get what we need — which is powered land, appropriately produced, and then we partner with the hyperscalers who will effectively be our tenants.”
He could not say, at least right now, who that will be.
“No, I can’t, Tolkan said. “I want to add, there are times when we’ve actually signed leases and those people are in buildings and I still can’t.”
Morrisey valued the West Virginia project at $4 billion, a thousand construction jobs and an estimated 125 ongoing jobs.
“Can you feel the buzz?” Morrisey asked a packed reception room during the announcement at the state Capitol.
He later commented, “This is going to be a difference maker for Berkeley County. It’s going to be a difference maker for West Virginia as a whole.”
Data centers (or, high impact intelligence centers, as they are called in West Virginia) are being built across the United States at a record-breaking pace, with construction investment tripling in the last three years to meet big time demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
With more than 4,000 in operation and nearly 3,000 planned or under construction, capacity is expected to double by 2030
They are prolific in states like neighboring Virginia, but they are also controversial among residents because of their aesthetics and noise. They are not major employers but can contribute significantly to local property taxes.
“It’s becoming more and more acrimonious,” Tolkan said of the broader development environment. “It’s pushing people apart. And what we see here in West Virginia is everybody working together as one.”
West Virginia officials have been trying for slices of that pie. Last year, Morrisey pushed and the legislature moved policies intended to allow developers, particularly data centers, to harness localized, self-sufficient energy systems. The legislation also included a formula to split the taxes generated by the properties.
Today’s announcement was met with a lot of enthusiasm, but there were still plenty of unanswered questions like who would be the end user of the developed property, the timeline and how many jobs will ultimately result.
“I think they are not prepared to announce the exact ribbon cutting or the opening, but I know they’re working very hard on that and we’re optimistic,” Morrisey said.
On the number of long-term jobs, the governor and Penzance’s managing partner said that came from an industry average.
“Obviously, there are certain things that you generally know about when you talk about the energy capacity and the footprint and what traditionally happens,” Morrisey said.
“Based upon what I’ve learned, there are estimates that are made. We think they are good faith estimates and we get to that amount but whether it ends up being 124 or 132, there’s always could be some variance. But the size of the facility and what it’s intended to surface, that’s what puts those numbers together.”
The announcement drew praise from Berkeley County Commission President Eddie Gochenour.
“This is really a fantastic opportunity that we’ve never had before. There are some unanswered questions, but I feel very confident after meeting with your team,” Gochenour told the governor and Penzance officials.