West Virginia's Department of Commerce certified a sprawling artificial-intelligence data center on a former surface mine north of Danville in Boone County without telling the public it had happened. The project, called Project Country Roads, is proposed by Houston-based LM Core Energy Services Inc. and could eventually draw up to 10 gigawatts, with the petition covering roughly 3,557 acres and broader planning documents referencing proposals of up to 8,000 acres, according to the seed reporting that first surfaced the certification.
A Certification That Slipped Through Quietly
According to Coal Valley News, the West Virginia Department of Commerce approved LM Core Energy Services' certification petition for Project Country Roads as a High Impact Data Center, with the notice signed by Commerce Secretary Matthew Herridge. A separate search-result excerpt from the Gazette-Mail similarly indicates the department approved the petition, stating that, based on the submission and applicable requirements, the department hereby approved the certification. Herridge said the department approved LM Core Energy Services Inc.'s certification petition for Project Country Roads as a high-impact data center, per the seed report.
The approval is conditional on an unspecified supplemental project commitment that the applicant must execute, implement and maintain, and the company must coordinate with the department on any material changes to the project's schedule, site configuration, infrastructure, power strategy or mitigation measures, according to the same reporting. Project Country Roads is planned for the former Hobet mine site, with a petition address listed at 5151 Shaffer Road in Danville, Boone County.
What the Project Could Look Like
Project Country Roads has been described as a phased, large-scale artificial-intelligence and high-performance-computing campus, and the seed reporting lists a petition address encompassing roughly 3,557 acres, with broader planning documents referencing proposals of up to 8,000 acres and 10 gigawatts of power. The approval described anticipated full-campus electric demand of about 1.4 gigawatts.
The project has been contemplated at up to 10 gigawatts, and TensorWave has been identified as an anticipated tenant.
The Campus and Nearby Sites
The project is planned as a phased campus.
A Morrisvale Volunteer Fire Department site is listed in the filing. The utility has said it does not discuss potential customers or projects unless the customer has made them public.
HB 2014 and Data-Center Rules
The project remains subject to permitting. The company said the DEP routinely meets with prospective applicants to provide guidance on permit requirements and processes. If it moves forward, the first-phase buildout would need confirmation of an operating-capacity structure for a synthetic-minor source pathway, and the state tax department would need to confirm the project's eligibility for a data-center sales-tax exemption.
HB 2014, requested by Gov. Patrick Morrisey, was adopted in March 2025 and is designed to fast-track data center development by removing local zoning and other regulatory control. The bill also requires confidentiality for developer letters of intent and related project materials. As Mountain State Spotlight has reported, HB 2014 gave the state Department of Commerce authority and oversight over data-center siting rules, and the law classifies a project as high-impact if it demands 90 megawatts of power or more.
Transparency Fight Already Underway
Delegate Kayla Young proposed an amendment that would have allowed redacted filings to be publicly viewed when a developer seeks certification, but Republicans rejected the proposal at a January 2026 legislative rulemaking review meeting. Young said the public has no way to appeal something it does not know exists. Commerce spokesperson Andy Malinoski said prospective economic development projects remain confidential until final approval and the formal release of details, while LM Core Energy Services CEO Jarrette Lewis said the company was exploring potential development at the former Hobet mine site and that it was premature to share details before finalization. Lewis added that the company looks forward to listening to residents and stakeholders to shape plans that benefit Boone County residents, and the company said community engagement is central to its approach once details are finalized. The West Virginia governor's office did not respond to a request for comment, according to the seed reporting.
If finalized, the Department of Commerce would be required to lead a coordinated public-engagement strategy with the governor's office and the Boone County Commission, including a state-led informational program, designated resident-inquiry contacts, and a response framework for anticipated contested air and water permit hearings. The company would also provide quarterly written status reports to the state data economy office on construction progress, capital deployment, permitting, interconnection milestones, employment, procurement and community engagement, if that arrangement is agreed to and put into effect.
Part of a Statewide Pattern
Boone County's quiet certification follows a similar pattern elsewhere in the state. Morrisey announced West Virginia's first certified high-impact data center in Berkeley County in February, according to Mountain State Spotlight. In September, he announced that Starwood Digital Ventures had received certification for the $12 billion Project Tamarack in Mason County, which West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported would use closed-loop cooling, with Starwood funding infrastructure costs rather than passing them on to ratepayers. That same announcement confirmed that Mason County developer Nscale had received certification for its Monarch Compute Campus, projected to require two gigawatts of power and support roughly 4,375 construction jobs and 645 permanent jobs. The outlet also noted Project Tamarack was the sixth large-scale data center confirmed in development statewide.
The seed reporting notes that West Virginia also certified Starwood's planned 2.16-gigawatt Mason County project. The Monarch Cloud Campus near Point Pleasant, with 1.35 gigawatts planned in its first phase, received certification on Aug. 26, after Starwood's certification was issued May 26. The Gazette-Mail has reported that Nscale's project in the Point Pleasant area has a 1.3-gigawatt minimum capacity, with an option to scale to eight gigawatts.
Monarch Cloud Campus has also drawn environmental violation notices for pollution and erosion-control failures, and continues to seek key air and water permits from the DEP, according to the seed reporting. Nearby residents experienced flooding last May after a silt fence separated at a connection point and released water following a weekend deluge. Purcellville, Virginia-based Fundamental Data LLC has not announced certification for its own planned data-center complex in Tucker and Grant counties, and Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Nicholas Preservati has said data center capacities remain conceptual, with eventual power users determining what ultimately gets built.
Local Pushback Building Statewide
Concerns about transparency and local control are not unique to Boone County. The Putnam County Commission signed a resolution calling for developers to take full financial responsibility for utility costs, protect water resources, and mitigate light and noise impacts, Mountain State Spotlight reported. In Charleston, City Council member Emmett Pepper has proposed an ordinance requiring data centers to obtain council approval before operating in the city, with provisions touching on setbacks, water use, grid capacity, emergency response and decommissioning.
Core Energy Services was also reported to have entered a July purchase-and-sale agreement with Cassingham LLC, and company and state officials have otherwise remained quiet about the project, according to the seed reporting.
