Governor Patrick Morrisey spoke on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, in the West Virginia Energy Educational Forum in Wheeling, West Virginia. (West Virginia Office by Governor Patrick Morrisey | Highness photo)
Governor Patrick Morrisey presented a new comprehensive energy plan for West Virginia on Wednesday, which will largely rely on the doubling and increasing the power supply from the non -renewable energy sources of the state such as coal and natural gas.
The plan -which is called the “50 BY 50” plan by Morrisey, aims to increase the state by 2050 from the current 15 gigawatt generation capacities to 50 gigawatts.
Morrisey found that it would be estimated by 2045 that it will be used by 70 gigawatts together with 12 other countries. In the meantime, it is forecast that around 40 GW could retire by 2030.
“Over the next 20 years, PJM will probably need 110 GW of the capacity of new generation to keep up with the growth of demand and aging. At the moment, very few countries within PJM can make sufficient generation to cover their own needs, let alone the export power to other states. West Virginia is one of these states,” said Morrisey. “[W]Hile West Virginia is a national leading provider of electricity exports per capita. We lack the existing generation capacity to meet future needs. “
In order to achieve his goal of 50 gigawatt generation capacities, Morrisey said that the state would prioritize its “stable Baseload production about renewable energies” due to continued dependence on coal and natural gas as well as nuclear energy.
“The production of the Baseload of coal, natural gas and core are of crucial importance for our way of life,” said Morrisey. “It offers a stable backbone for the network to ensure that there is always a reliable power supply.”
West Virginia currently has no nuclear energy developments. In 2022However, the legislators passed a legislative template that cancel the former prohibition of the nuclear energy of the state and paved the way for the future generation.
After Kernergie InstitutWest Virginia has five “several modular reaction systems with several units” that are in operation by 2025. Appalachian Power, the largest electrical company in the state, is Currently in the process to create a diminutive modular reactor in Virginia.
Morrisey said that he not only wants to keep the current coal -fired power plants of the state into operation, but also plans to explore options for newly created coal -fired power plants.
“West Virginia has numerous coal -fired power plants that have driven this country for decades. We need these plants to stay in operation,” said Morrisey. “… we will never turn our backs on our existing coal-fired power plants and work with the federal government to pursue a new coal-fired generation.”
Most of the state’s existing coal -fired power plants were commissioned decades ago and have been upgraded since then to remain operational. In West Virginia or elsewhere in the United States, no new vast coal -fired power plants have been commissioned for over 10 years.
Morrisey said the coal industry in West Virginia was a “cornerstone of electricity generation” and contributed to ensuring “affordable and reliable electricity” in the state.
After a 2022 evaluation West Virginians paid the third highest electricity costs for household electricity as a percentage of their income from the electrical suppliers across the country. Alabama and Mississippi were the only states in which the prices of the Berg State were exceeded.
National security and the race for artificial intelligence, developments in the data center
Morrisey’s comments focused on threats that are exposed to the United States from China, Russia and elsewhere. He said that “energy is used by our opponents to threaten the American lifestyle”.
“China, Russia and Iran are three of the largest energy -producing countries in the world and three of the biggest opponents in our nation,” said Morrisey. “They coordinate diplomatically, militarily and economically in order to weaken the American influence and to build an alternative global order.”
In particular, according to Morrisey, the country must ensure that it competes with China and protects itself from China, a massive coal current generator and “dominates” mineral supply chains.
“China positions itself as the world’s leading director of data centers and is investing in technology to promote the flow of critical data to China and not to the USA,” said Morrisey. “America can either find a way to dramatically increase its generation of electricity, or China will put our nation in a technological struggle that undermines our national security.”
The data centers, Morrisey continued, are of central importance for this “struggle”. He said the state had teamed up with OAK Ridge National Laboratory to support the “development of our data center development strategy”.
However, several data centers in West Virginia are already to be developed. Permission for some already have was approved. Some of these data centers are operated by “microgrids” that work separately from existing supply companies. This was made possible during the legislative period in 2025, in which the legislators passed the 2014 house law so that these microgrids could be determined.
This legislation too contain language Locities prevent the zone laws and other regulations – such as those for noise and airy pollution – against developments.
Out of Tucker County in addition State southern coal fields of the stateThe residents have started to stop these developments. They are worried about how they will influence their communities through unhealthy emissions and through unhealthy emissions and massive water consumptionWhat they will fear threaten Your own water supply.
Morrisey said on Wednesday that the state must “ensure” that the “quick innovation and demand” of data centers do not “negatively affect” the residents. He did not sketch what these negative effects would be or how they would be avoided.
Environmental representatives decode a lack of renewable energies in the state strategy
While Morrisey said that every type of energy has to be accepted to cover the electricity requirement, he said, the place for renewable energies – such as solar and wind – was restricted.
He quoted the lack of “flat land” of the state and a study that shows that West Virginia does not have a high number of “annual sunlight hours” on average.
Solar energy generally does not need a year -round sunlight to create electricity. If electricity is produced from solar, it can be kept in batteries for utilize on dull days and at night.
Shawn Phillips with the West Virginia Citizen Action Group said that it was offended to hear how Morrisey calls the energy and “common sense” in West Virginia as “affordable” and coal because the electricity invoices in the state continue to rise. In the meantime, West Virginia has largely refused under Republican leadership to invest or expand it in its sector of renewable energies.
Legislators only proposed legislators this year prohibit all wind power projectsSet new taxes for Electricity from wind and solar Projects, Limit the number of wind projects allowed in a year All subsidies for renewable energies Projects and Increase taxes On wind turbines.
Current guidelines prohibited Community solarthat enable residents and companies to join a nearby solar project and lower your electricity prices from supply company. Invoices for the cancellation of this ban have repeatedly failed in legislation.
Phillips said if West Virginia wants to make energy affordable and reliable, the state must explore its options with renewable forms of energy.
“Coal is an unreliable fuel – it is aging, collapse and prices increase,” said Phillips. “Renewable energies are the fastest, cheapest and most reliable sources that we can build today. Fossil fuels not only let off walls – they poison our air and water.
Jillian Welsh, communication coordinator of the state environmental council, repeated Phillips’ points. If the affordability of the energy is the goal, Welsh said, “the focus and focus on renewable energies.”
“Wind, solar and [battery] Storage are the fastest and cheapest resources to build them and leave the making [Morrisey’s] Plan outdated on the first day, “said Welsh.
Welsh found that Morrisey did not even mention the growing effects of climate change in the region or a step to reduce carbon emissions, which can endanger the health of the residents and contribute to climate change.
West Virginia is already home to the home Ninth highest emitter From greenhouse gases in the nation, noisy Data From the Environmental Protection Agency. Overall the state was the 12th highest emitter National for greenhouse gases in 2023.
A proposed natural gas power plants would currently contribute more emissions to the atmosphere. In Mingo County, two proposed plants with methane companies would only the third and fourth largest power plants in the state, which was once built, only behind the work of John E. Amos and the Harrison power plant. If the power plants are approved, two data centers and an ammonium system should be supplied with electricity.
Since they would act as microgrids, the local governments would not have a say or do their operations.
“Municipalities do not get a say in whether they want massive new plants in their backyards. There is hardly a nod [in Morrisey’s address] In order to protect air, water and health – and not a word to remove the mountain summit, ”said Welsisch. At the same time, West Virginian is told that he should protect the invoice for archaic, environmentally harmful power.”
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