Monroe County Commission denies ongoing data center discussions

By RealWV staff,

UNION, WV — Is Monroe County, WV, in line to receive a data center? According to the Monroe County Commission, it’s unclear. They released a statement on Wednesday evening which said the state and a data center company had visited a potential site in Ballard, but the commission claims to have no knowledge of whether that project is moving forward.

Commissioners Melvin Young, Kevin Galford, and Kenny Mann said that they asked the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation “to explore the possibility of constructing an additional building to attract a business similar to M-Rock.” However, “After the site visit, GVEDC declined to pursue the project.”

However, they said that was not the end of the discussions as the state became involved next. “Subsequently, state officials in Charleston were informed of the land and conducted a visit with representatives from a prospective data center company. The Commission has not been provided with the name of the company or any further details about the proposal.”

Commissioners say they would welcome public meetings to discuss the topic but know nothing more about the rumored project.

With a community petition opposed to the rumored data center circulating online (containing nearly 500 verified signatures after one day), commissioners acknowledge public opposition to data centers in the rural, farming county, but say they are as uninformed as the public.

“Recent state legislation has removed local authority over certified projects of this nature, limiting the Commission’s ability to regulate or influence them,” commissioners said in a statement. “If opposition to data centers persists, the Commission encourages residents to contact their state legislators and representatives, as authority now resides at the state level.”

Monroe County is represented by Senator Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, Senator Jack David Woodrum, R-Summers, and Delegate Roy Cooper, R-Monroe.

To learn more about data center development in West Virginia, read our story from Wednesday:

https://therealwv.com/2026/02/04/data-centers-a-tremendous-opportunity-says-state-official/

To read the full statement from the Monroe County Commission, see below: