West Virginia is pairing incentives for data center development with a statewide plan to distribute new revenue among host counties, infrastructure needs, and tax relief.
West Virginia is positioning itself as a major destination for data center development, with state officials announcing two new projects valued at more than $81 billion. The announcements build on a broader push that state leaders say has generated approximately $96 billion in private-sector investment and more than 19,000 projected jobs. West Virginia has supported that strategy through legislation enacted in 2025 that eased certain land use requirements and allows data centers to develop their own power through microgrids. The state has also established tax incentives for the industry, including sales tax exemptions on building materials and hardware and a discounted valuation for servers and computers, while land and non-technology buildings remain subject to local county property taxes.
A recently released state framework addresses how data center revenues and infrastructure impacts would be managed. Under the plan, 30% of associated revenue would go to the county hosting a project, 10% would be distributed among counties statewide, and another 10% would support electric, water, and wastewater infrastructure, with the remaining 50% directed toward efforts to eliminate the state individual income tax. The framework also calls for data center projects to be self-funded so utility costs are not shifted to other ratepayers and includes requirements intended to reduce water impacts through closed-loop cooling, liquid immersion cooling, and reclaimed water. State officials estimate that two previously announced projects in Berkeley and Putnam counties, valued at a combined $17 billion and still in planning or pre-construction, could eventually generate more than $100 million annually for the two counties.
