{"id":72393,"date":"2026-02-01T14:42:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T17:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/888461203"},"modified":"2026-02-01T14:42:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T17:42:50","slug":"data-tech-fight-surges-bill-offers-tax-breaks-to-firms-in-mason-mingo-and-tucker-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/01\/data-tech-fight-surges-bill-offers-tax-breaks-to-firms-in-mason-mingo-and-tucker-counties\/","title":{"rendered":"Data, tech fight surges: Bill offers tax breaks to firms in Mason, Mingo and Tucker counties"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Mike Tony
<\/strong>Charleston Gazette-Mail<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Public outcry over West Virginia political leaders\u2019 pursuit of data center development has reached a fever pitch in recent months, with residents protesting and filing legal challenges against expected data center projects in Mason, Mingo and Tucker counties.<\/p>\n

But state lawmakers are ramping up their data center pursuit a year after passing controversial legislation pushed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey aimed at drawing data centers to West Virginia at the expense of local government control and funding.<\/p>\n

That legislation, House Bill 2014, prohibited local jurisdiction over \u201chigh-impact\u201d data centers and diverts most of any property tax revenue they would generate away from local taxing bodies, a move estimated to cost counties and school districts millions.<\/p>\n

Now under West Virginia House Finance Committee consideration is new legislation that would offer data center and \u201cnew data\u201d operations and manufacturing projects a significant tax break.<\/p>\n

HB 4013, the Mountaineer Flexible Tax Credit Act of 2026, got a less-than-10- minute-hearing in the House Finance Committee last week and has been on the committee\u2019s agenda twice this week, though it hasn\u2019t yet been considered for markup and passage to the full House of Delegates as signaled on meeting agendas.<\/p>\n

Led in sponsorship by Delegate Geno Chiarelli, R-Monongalia, HB 4013 would create a multiform tax credit for new data center, telecommunications, \u201cdata\/information processing,\u201d \u201ctechnology intensive,\u201d manufacturing, research and warehouse enterprises that invest at least $2.5 million or create at least 10 new full-time jobs in the state.<\/p>\n

The size of the tax credit would depend on how much the company spends on machinery, construction, and worker wages at or above 75% of the average state or county wage.<\/p>\n

The tax break offered through HB 4013 could be spread over 10 years and amount to millions of dollars \u2014 including for developers of data centers.<\/p>\n

Expected data center operations have sparked widespread opposition from West Virginia communityand environmental advocates fearing adverse air, water and noise pollution impacts from anticipated data center operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the legislature is back with a costly proposal, HB 4013, to give more handouts to dirty data center developments,\u201d West Virginia Citizen Action Group, a progressive advocacy group, said in an email to supporters Tuesday to direct feedback opposing the bill to House Finance Committee members.<\/p>\n

Nine months after HB 2014\u2019s passage, West Virginia data center development hasn\u2019t accelerated, and the state still trails Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and other regional states in data center presence.<\/p>\n

Houston-based Fidelis New Energy LLC and international industrial investment firm 8090 Industrieson Wednesday announced the launch of a planned Mason County-based platform to develop, own and operate large-scale, fully integrated artificial intelligence infrastructure and power microgrids. The platform is to be anchored by the previously announced Monarch Compute Campus near Point Pleasant. A 2,300-acre Monarch AI Data Center System has been planned for the area.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the West Virginia Economic Development Authority approved a forgivable $62.5 million loan with a three-year term for Fidelis subsidiary Mountaineer GigaSystem LLC, which was formed to develop a hydrogen production facility in the area.<\/p>\n

Then-Gov. Jim Justice\u2018s office said Fidelis planned for data centers to be powered by net-zero carbon hydrogen as part of a Mason County hydrogen production plan, with data center capacity potentially reaching 1,000 megawatts when fully built out.<\/p>\n

Tax credit eligibility would be broad under HB 4013<\/strong><\/p>\n

No fiscal note has yet been released to project revenue costs and other impacts from HB 4013.<\/p>\n

The bill broadly defines investments qualified to garner tax credit eligibility as including \u201call costs associated with\u201d acquisition, installation, construction of or tenant interest in any buildings and other property improvements, equipment, machinery, landscaping, fire protection, engineering, and design costs.<\/p>\n

Such investments would<\/em> not include acquisition or<\/em> development of natural resources,<\/em> including coal,<\/em> natural gas, natural gas<\/em> liquids, oil, rock, sand and<\/em> standing timber.<\/em><\/p>\n

Businesses wishing to<\/em> apply for the Mountaineer<\/em> Flex Tax Credit would have<\/em> to submit an application to<\/em> the state Department of<\/em> Commerce that includes:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 A \u201cbrief overview\u201d of<\/em> the applicant\u2019s business or<\/em> industry<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 <\/em>A headquarters location<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 <\/em>A project site location<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 The amount of proposed<\/em> qualified investment<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 The number of new<\/em> full-time jobs to be created<\/em> from the project<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 The average worker<\/em> wage to be paid for those<\/em> jobs<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 The length of time<\/em> needed for the applicant to<\/em> meet its qualified investment<\/em> and new full-time job<\/em> creation projections<\/em><\/p>\n

Tax credit calculations<\/em> would include:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25a0 1.5% of the total value<\/em> of all manufacturing or<\/em> processing machinery, including<\/em> total purchase and<\/em> installation costs, acquired,<\/em> leased or installed for the<\/em> project after the Department<\/em> of Commerce certifies<\/em> the project as eligible for<\/em> the tax credit<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 7% of the total value,<\/em> including installation costs<\/em> of any nonmanufacturing<\/em> equipment<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 2% of the total contract<\/em> price or compensation paid<\/em> to any contractor for construction<\/em> of any building<\/em> structure, or other property<\/em> improvement to establish<\/em> the project<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 15-30% of the product<\/em> derived by multiplying the<\/em> average employer wage by<\/em> the number of new fulltime<\/em> jobs, depending on<\/em> average wages and benefits<\/em> compared with state averages<\/em><\/p>\n

The credit allowed by HB<\/em> 4013 would be allowable for<\/em> in-state investments made<\/em> starting July 1, 2027.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the House Finance<\/em> Committee\u2019s Friday meeting,<\/em> Chiarelli framed HB<\/em> 4013 as a way to \u201cbring<\/em> more businesses and better-paying jobs to West<\/em> Virginia without giving<\/em> away money upfront.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c[HB 4013] really gives<\/em> our Department of Commerce<\/em> and [Division of ]<\/em> Economic Development a<\/em> little bit more flexibility to<\/em> find those niche companies<\/em> that may want to locate<\/em> here and invest in West<\/em> Virginia. Is that fair?\u201d<\/em> House Finance Committee<\/em> Vice Chair Clay Riley,<\/em> R-Harrison, asked Chiarelli.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI would say so,\u201d Chiarelli<\/em> replied. \u201cThis tax credit is<\/em> as flexible as putty, and it<\/em> seems like it\u2019s going to be<\/em> applicable in a number of<\/em> situations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

But Delegate Chuck<\/em> Horst, R-Berkeley, struck a<\/em> note of worry, observing<\/em> that data centers \u2014 computer<\/em> server-populated<\/em> warehouses that power artificial<\/em> intelligence and<\/em> other computing tasks \u2014<\/em> often offer few jobs.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOur big benefit from<\/em> them is going to be revenue<\/em> generated by taxes, by<\/em> property tax,\u201d Horst predicted<\/em> of data centers. \u201c[HB<\/em> 4013] just gives me pause.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Bill under fire fromadvocacy groups<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The West Virginia Center<\/em> on Budget and Policy, a<\/em> progressive policy think<\/em> tank, published an analysis<\/em> of HB 4013 Friday calculating<\/em> that a single data center<\/em> would qualify for an almost<\/em> $145 million tax credit in a<\/em> hypothetical example of a<\/em> data center with a $2 billion<\/em> value in equipment and<\/em> machinery and construction<\/em> costs of $200 million<\/em> employing 25 full-time<\/em> workers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Authored by Sean<\/em> O\u2019Leary, senior policy analyst<\/em> at the West Virginia<\/em> Center on Budget and Policy,<\/em> the analysis suggested<\/em> that data center developers<\/em> in some cases \u201cdegrade\u201d<\/em> public services like electricity<\/em> and water.<\/em><\/p>\n

Data centers often consume<\/em> large amounts of<\/em> electricity and water,<\/em> straining power grids and<\/em> public water systems.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c[E]nacting massive tax<\/em> giveaways means they get<\/em> to benefit from these public<\/em> services without contributing<\/em> financially to them like<\/em> residents and small businesses<\/em> do,\u201d O\u2019Leary wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n

The West Virginia Citizen<\/em> Action Group predicted in<\/em> an email to supporters<\/em> Tuesday that HB 4013<\/em> would cost the state hundreds<\/em> of millions of dollars<\/em> annually.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, not only will the<\/em> counties not see the tax<\/em> benefits of these massive<\/em> developments, but the state<\/em> will not either,\u201d the group<\/em> said, alluding to the combination<\/em> of local tax revenue-<\/em> diverting HB 2014 and<\/em> state tax break-laden HB<\/em> 4013.<\/em><\/p>\n

HB 2014 would split<\/em> property tax proceeds from<\/em> high-impact data centers as<\/em> follows:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 50% in a fund for reducing<\/em> personal income tax<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 30% to the county or<\/em> counties where a data center<\/em> is located<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 10% to all counties on a<\/em> per capita basis<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 5% to the West Virginia<\/em> Water Development Authority-<\/em> administered Economic<\/em> Enhancement Grant<\/em> Fund, used for water and<\/em> wastewater infrastructure<\/em> but also economic development<\/em><\/p>\n

\u25a0 5% to an Electric Grid Stabilization Fund HB 2014 would create to help maintain utility-owned coal and gas electric generation<\/p>\n

The West Virginia Citizen Action Group and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy both have urged supporters to submit comments to House Finance Committee members voicing opposition to HB 4013.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tax credit is another step in rewarding Big Tech for bringing their resource draining data centers to the Mountain State. But HB 4013 takes it too far,\u201d the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy said in a Monday blog post predicting HB 4013 would \u201cprovide free reign for more companies to take advantage of our minimally regulated rural communities, alter their landscapes, pollute their air and rivers, and give nothing to the communities in return.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the rest of the story at the Charleston Gazette-Mail<\/a><\/p>\n