energy sector as being built on two pillars— intermittent and baseload generation.
“ While intermittent sources like solar, wind and hydro add diversity, baseload energy— especially coal, natural gas and nuclear— ensures continuous, reliable power regardless of weather conditions,” Preservati says.“ Coal, in particular, is critical for grid reliability during peak demand and extreme weather events.”
Preservati identifies microgrids for data centers— which utilize West Virginia’ s abundance of energy sources— as being a potential economic driver for the state. These microgrids aren’ t connected to any larger energy grid and allow independent power production, meaning their implementation would make the Mountain State a popular destination for data centers.
“ West Virginia is going to meet at the intersection of energy and technology,” he says.“ I think you’ re seeing that between the data centers and the energy sector, that’ s our path forward.”
The new data centers would also bring revenue from property taxes that will benefit communities. Based on the value of the data center, the town would have the potential to earn billions of dollars that can be put back into the area.
Abandoned mine sites are being considered as locations for the potential new data centers. With the sites already housing electricity infrastructure and flattened land, developers would have the perfect foundation to expand the centers to West Virginia.
Preservati says there are a myriad of additional uses for locations like these as well. Housing, residential areas, retail establishments and industrial and manufacturing facilities are just a few examples.
“ West Virginia is going to meet at the intersection of energy and technology.”
“ There are all kinds of opportunities to utilize that land,” he says.“ We just have to get out in front of that when that mine permit is filed and say,‘ Hey, we want to use this mine site for some kind of development,’ so they won’ t have to go through the full reclamation process.”
A bill proposing the merger of the West Virginia Department of Commerce and the WVDED passed through the Legislature in the 2025 session, a move that could significantly smoothen operations and strengthen communication between leaders in the state’ s economic landscape.
The merger will help to eliminate redundant responsibilities and reduce costs. This will also help the state better allocate resources and ensure that its assets are being used in the most productive ways possible. With the alignment of the two departments, carrying out tasks that will strengthen West Virginia’ s economy could become much less complicated.
“ I think it just makes things flow better,” Preservati says.“ The key is just trying to be more efficient, and efficiency doesn’ t always mean saving tons and tons of dollars. It also means saving time, which will indirectly save money.”
Mike Graney, executive director of the WVDED, has had a career defined by hands-on leadership across a variety of industries, including petroleum, retail, acquisition, construction, finance, administration and environmental compliance. With his extensive experience, Graney is fully equipped to support economic development efforts in the Mountain State.
Graney also has an active involvement in community service, which has shown him first-hand the importance of staying involved at a local level and how important a town’ s communities are to its ability to thrive.
Herridge addresses attendees at the 2025 West Virginia Economic Development Council Legislative Conference.
Photo by West Virginia Department of Commerce.
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