Report Shows Significant Impact for County Governments, Schools
State Treasurer Larry Pack today released a tax analysis report on two prominent data center projects: the Berkeley County Penzance Management project and the Google project in Putnam County. Following the passage of the Power Generation and Consumption Act of 2025 (HB2014), taxable property income was redirected away from standard allocations for high-impact data centers. The total tax income from these two projects would exceed $100 million annually.
“There’s a lot of confusion about these data center projects. That’s why we worked to clarify their impact, so the public understands what it means for their community,” Treasurer Pack said. “Regardless of what the estimates say, we know that community buy-in is crucial to any economic development project, and that is why it's important that we be as transparent as possible about the total impact of these data center projects. If these projects come to fruition, we want citizens to be ready to talk with their local and state officials on how best to spend these dollars to benefit their communities.”
The report looked at the Berkeley County Penzance Management project (estimated investment of $10 billion) and the Google project in Putnam County (estimated investment of $7 billion).
The expected government revenue gained is $10.5 million for the Berkeley County Commission and $8.3 million for the Putnam County Commission annually. School districts in those areas are expected to receive $28.3 million and $17.4 million, respectively. The Personal Income Tax (PIT) Reduction Fund would receive more than $27.9 million. Other counties would share $5.6 million, or an average of roughly $100,000 per county.
“As state and local governments consider adding more data centers, we must ensure the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. West Virginia citizens and their needs must stay front and center in these discussions,” Treasurer Pack said. “Economic growth and diversification must be our top priority if we are to move West Virginia forward. Only through pro-growth policies can we set West Virginia on a brighter path.”
The report findings can be attributed to Mark Muchow, West Virginia Treasury Strategic Analyst and former Deputy Revenue Secretary.
For a full analysis, visit: https://wvtreasury.gov/Portals/wvtreasury/Content/Research/DataCenterAnalysis.pdf?ver=dYQ8yoXbx7FOtb0jQENsBQ%3d%3d