Last week, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey gave one of his most closely watched speeches in his career at The Greenbrier. Meanwhile, the man most identified with the historic five-star hotel and resort, United States Senator Jim Justice, was using the same occasion, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Summit, to discuss a potential run for his former office.
To his credit, during the speech the Governor resisted mention of the junior Senator from the Mountain State and focused on key announcements and updates. His speech last week adds to a long list of private sector investments and the likelihood of more good-paying construction and permanent jobs all over the state.
“Looks like you’ve had an exciting morning, and I’m hopeful with some of the announcements we’re going to make, we’re going to keep you on the edge of your seats for a few minutes longer,” said Governor Morrisey.
Much of Governor Morrisey’s strategy for addressing the mounting list of needs facing the state lies in banking on revenues from development and assistance from companies seeking to make major investments. He stated early in his presentation that “we need to create the environment that gives every West Virginia family, and I need every family, the opportunity to pursue their dreams, to wildly succeed, and allow West Virginia to be the best place to live, work, and play in America.”
“As your governor, that’s what motivates me,” he added. He touted $96 billion in investment secured for the state over a one-year period, explaining that was nine times better than the next best year for economic development. Later in the talk, he revealed that the investment would result in a little less than 20,000 new jobs.
The Governor then turned to rural healthcare transformation funds that will improve access, facilities, communication, and other key elements of obtaining medical service in remote locations. He explained it as a “once in a lifetime opportunity to make improvements, improving transportation access for many people that struggle to get to their appointments, modernizing health care and billing, recruiting new nurse practitioners and doctors and other health care providers to come to our state, making health care more affordable.”
Improvements in healthcare outcomes, the Governor reasoned, will directly improve West Virginia’s poor workforce participation rate.
“Clean, clear water” formed the next major topic of discussion, with the Governor sharing that the State will put $145 million towards improving water systems and infrastructure. He also pointed out that the amount of money from the state does not mean that only $145 million will be spent on these projects. Much of that money will go into matching funds attached to potentially hundreds of millions more in funding from the federal government and other sources.
Often the federal government will provide a grant to fund a large percent, often 70 to 90 percent, if the recipient can put in the smaller percentage. State funding will help to meet those matches and leverage more help, the Governor suggesting that $450 million more could be obtained.
He added that the State could soon see spending from his administration on such projects top $1 billion.
Next came the topic of energy. Historically, West Virginia has served as a source of raw materials for manufacturing or power production in other states. Many aware of that history have cited it in criticizing recent development moves and efforts.
The difference is that the State has a policy in place to monetize West Virginia resources as much as possible in state. For example, as Governor Morrisey explained, “in the past, West Virginia was exporting 90 percent of its natural gas out of state for the benefit of others. This is a different philosophy than we have.”
He went on to explain that “historically, West Virginia’s energy and resources were used to benefit others that were mostly shipped out of state, not directly benefiting West Virginia. Our plan is different . . . to use West Virginia’s coal, our gas, and other resources to generate power in West Virginia. And this is power that could be used for manufacturers, for technology companies, and other businesses in our state.”
A year ago, the Governor shared the vision to add 50 gigawatts of electric power production to state capacity by 2050. One year later, almost one fifth of that goal has been realized. He explained that coal has benefited from a renewed commitment by President Donald Trump, especially in terms of extending the expected useful life of coal-fired plants. Also, the National Science Foundation made a major $320 million investment in an initiative from West Virginia University and its partners to develop clean coal technology.
Governor Morrisey also shared how his administration had worked with leadership at EQT, Hope Gas, and American Electric Power to drive even more investment. He stated that the effort had led to another $80 million in potential investment “to monetize that intersection between energy and manufacturing and technology and health care.”
He then described developments across the state, starting with a major expansion by Randox in Jefferson County. Next came an announcement of a foundation for the Potomac Highlands created by $13 million in a joint effort between Microsoft and one of their power vendors, Clearway. That company operates windfarms in Grant, Mineral and elsewhere.
All of that set the stage for a major announcement of a $12 billion project from Starwood Digital ventures in Mason County. The project runs on a closed loop cooling system that minimizes demands on water systems.
Anthony Balestrieri, Chief Executive Officer of the company, joined the Governor on stage. He stated that “West Virginia has been at the forefront of bringing and defining a clear set of standards for responsible development, and we appreciate that leadership.”
The Governor had another Mason County announcement that nScale received approval for its high impact data center project whose investment will reach close to $70 billion.
Dan Shapiro of nScale praised the diligence of West Virginia officials in examining proposals and forming counter-proposals to protect state interests in environmental impact, aesthetics, infrastructure, and community concerns.
In response to state legislation and in anticipation of the Ratepayers Protection Act currently before the United States Congress and supported by Rep. Riley Moore, nScale representatives stated that the process to earn agreement with the State was “not easy.”
They went on to say that “It was rigorous, and it should be, because West Virginia getting it right on the front end rather than blindly welcoming in every type of data centers made us all better and focused.”
The Governor concurred, saying “West Virginia has learned from the mistakes of others and we’re doing it right.”
