West Virginians want transparency

Mountain State Spotlight
Sarah Elbeshbishi
September 28th, 2025

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As proposals for vast energy projects pop up in Mason, Mingo and Tucker counties, communities are growing frustrated at the lack of answers to their questions.

POINT PLEASANT, WV — As the meeting organizers wrapped up their presentation on the sprawling industrial project proposed nearby, Ben Stevens quickly stood from his seat in the crowd to get some answers.  

He wondered how close the project would be built to his home and whether there would be buyouts.

Stevens is one of many who live in a housing development right behind a property being eyed for part of the massive industrial project proposed for Mason County. The proximity has alarmed residents, and the little available information has exacerbated their worries.  

The project is slated to include a power plant, hydrogen production facility, carbon dioxide storage facility and data center complex. But in the two years since it was initially announced, folks have struggled to get any information. That continued during a community meeting earlier this month.

“I just need basic answers,” said Stevens, who is in his 80s. “When you get to my age the future isn’t out there, the future is right here today, and we need, sometimes, firm answers.” 

But Stevens, as did others, left with more questions.

Mason County residents’ questions go unanswered

When David Grigsby walked into the Point Pleasant River Museum earlier this month to learn more about the development proposed by Fidelis New Energy, he expected to hear that the data centers would be built right next to his home. But that wasn’t the case. 

During the September meeting, organized by the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, more than 50 residents were shown the possible locations of the project based on visual renderings on the company’s website. That presentation seemed to indicate that the data centers would be further north than Grigsby believed. 

He originally thought the project would only impact him and the roughly 50 other homes in a housing development off state Route 62 near the county airport. But the entire project could actually end up spanning miles, affecting many more people. 

“That’s another concern,” said Grigsby. “This conglomerate is going to be humongous.” 

Residents do know where the company plans to build the power plant through the air permit application submitted to the state. But, even then, it raised more questions. 

The power plant is expected to burn roughly 100 tons of wood chips per hour. Residents wonder where the company plans to source them. There are also plans to capture carbon dioxide emissions from the plant. People have questions about possible water contamination since capturing carbon involves storing it underground.

But those questions were left unanswered. 

“It was good information, but it wasn’t official information,” Grigsby said of the meeting. “I’m glad they did it, but having actual official word from someone who makes decisions, that’s really what we want.” 

Fidelis has previously said that the carbon injected underground would not impact drinking water and that the company only uses “commercially proven technologies,” which include techniques and procedures that support the “safe and permanent” storage of carbon.

Data center proposals spark questions and worries

In Mingo County, Gilbert resident Pam Surber has been worried since learning about a proposal to build two off-grid methane power plants to power data centers.

The project has sparked questions about water and air quality as well as the possible health impact. Reported issues over water usage and noise and light pollution by people in other states who live near data centers have continued to fuel those concerns.

“We have enough people in this area with health problems, and we don’t need anymore of this,” Surber said.  

The company, New York-based TransGas Development Systems, LLC, plans to also include an ammonia plant, which, if built, would become the largest natural gas-powered ammonia plant in the world.

Earlier this month, roughly 50 residents from Mingo and Logan counties gathered to get some answers, but the meeting, also organized by the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, still left many lingering questions. 

Folks in Point Pleasant and the coalfields aren’t the only ones in West Virginia who have grown frustrated about the lack of transparency over projects proposed in their communities.  

An off-grid plant to power a data center complex proposed between the towns of Davis and Thomas prompted Tucker County residents to quickly organize to demand answers. There, the community wasn’t aware of the project until the company applied for a state air permit, which included redactions that elicited more questions.  

And a recently passed law, touted by the governor, has stripped away local communities’ ability to restrict noise, lighting, or land use from such projects, only adding to the frustration brewing in communities across West Virginia. 

Surber hoped that Adam Victor, TransGas president and founder, would be at the public hearing held on the company’s air permit applications. 

“I want to hear his take on this,” she said. “Why he hasn’t been transparent with this whole deal.” 

But he wasn’t there. 

In an interview, Victor said his company plans to meet with the community but not until after they receive their project permits, adding that it would “be improper for us to interfere” in the state’s permitting process.  

When asked whether there was a statute or rule prohibiting permit applicants from engaging with citizens about a project in their community, DEP spokesperson Terry Fletcher said the agency is “not aware” of any. 

The agency, Fletcher added, “always encourages applicants to engage with the public, share information, and answer questions from community members.”