U.S. data center growth has entered West Virginia's congressional race as candidates propose different rules for electricity costs and local approval ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.
In a July 20-Aug. 9 survey, Pew Research Center found that 60% of U.S. adults would be uncomfortable with a new data center operating nearby. That included 54% of Republicans and Republican-leaning adults and 68% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults. Half said data centers were mostly bad for household energy costs, up from 38% in January.
Pew also analyzed Data Center Map records dated Feb. 19 and counted more than 3,000 operating U.S. facilities and over 1,500 planned or in development. Its latter category includes sites under construction, planned or held as land for a future project. Rural areas accounted for 67% of that category, against 13% of operating sites.
France 24 reported growing concern about data center development among West Virginia voters. In the state's Second Congressional District, Republican Rep. Riley Moore co-sponsored the Ratepayer Protection Act and voted for it when the House passed it. The bill would require state utility regulators and utilities outside their oversight to consider a standard for recovering grid upgrade costs from data centers with peak demand of at least 100 megawatts. It would not require them to adopt the standard. A Sept. 30 Senate procedural vote failed to advance the bill, 57-43.
Moore's Democratic challenger, Ace Parsi, proposes pausing construction of new large data centers while a national study examines their costs. His plan would require approval from a local governing body before a new project proceeds; residents could petition for a referendum. Parsi said the pause and approval rules would exclude existing facilities and those already under construction.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey has promoted the investment case. His office announced March 27 that Google had bought land for a Putnam County data center and said the company had pledged to cover electrical, water and sewer upgrades tied to the project. The governor's office described the project as early-stage at the time.
The potential demand is substantial: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates data centers could use 11.8% of U.S. electricity by 2030, within a scenario range of 9.5% to 15.3%, as detailed in earlier EconoTimes coverage of data center power demand. In June, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asked six regional grid operators to defend or revise their rules for connecting large electricity users, including provisions intended to prevent costs from shifting to other customers.
Moore and Parsi face voters Nov. 3.
