Plans for a data center threaten scenic wilderness and dark skies in West Virginia
DAVIS, W.Va.
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Plans → threaten → Virginia
— Stretching nearly a million acres through the rugged mountains of eastern West Virginia, the Monongahela National Forest links some of the state's best known natural attractions.
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Forest → stretch → attractions
The vast area ranges from the ski slopes of Canaan Valley to the dark skies of Blackwater Falls and Spruce Knob and includes the small towns of Davis and Thomas that serve as gateways for visitors to the region.
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that → range → region
For the past seven months, Kaleb Skelton, his wife, Ella, their 2-year-old son, Ryder, and dog Mabel have lived in a camper in this corner of West Virginia's "almost heaven."
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Skelton → live → heaven
Kaleb is finishing a seasonal stint as a campground manager on a lake near Spruce Knob, the state's highest point.
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Kaleb → finish → Knob
On clear nights atop the isolated peak, they get to experience a river of stars in one of the very few pockets of darkness remaining in the Eastern United States.
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they → get → States
The area has become a draw for amateur astronomers.
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area → become → astronomers
During summer's new moons, Kaleb says, one in four campsites he oversees is occupied by someone with a telescope.
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he → say → telescope
He thought his family's cabin in eastern Texas offered "the craziest" dark skies he'd ever seen, "but coming out here definitely rivals it."
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coming → think → it
Those inky-black nights — and the natural beauty they shelter — are now under threat from what many residents see as a modern-day version of extractive industries like logging and mining that once defined the region.
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that → shelter → region
In a place where tourism, outdoor recreation and community are deeply intertwined, a gigantic power plant and data center campus in nearby Tucker County would bring large-scale development into the heart of it all.
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plant → intertwine → it
The photo shows a handful of squat buildings amid a broad clearing littered with forest remains.
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photo → show → remains
They used to call it "Stump Town," says Kim Williams, president of the Snow Sports Museum of West Virginia in Canaan Valley.
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Williams → use → Valley
At the turn of the century, massive first-growth trees dominated the landscape.
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trees → dominate → landscape
Then, logging companies "came in and clear-cut the whole valley and everything around it," he says.
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he → come → it
By the early 20th century, entire mountainsides of red spruce and eastern hemlock had been stripped bare.
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mountainsides → strip → spruce
Then came the coal companies, which left the nearby Blackwater River acidic and dangerous to drink.
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which → come → River
Today, the scars still show.
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scars → show → ?
The big trees won't return for generations, but a century of natural regrowth, conservation and deliberate restoration means the land is on its way to healing.
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land → return → healing
While few expect that the latest tech boom presages anything like the environmental destruction of the past, many see the proposed new Ridgeline data center as a big step backward, undoing the progress the local community has made to recover.
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community → expect → progress
A roughly 785-megawatt generating plant is slated to be the first part of "a large-scale data and energy infrastructure project designed to support artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and enterprise systems," according to Purcellville, Va.-based Fundamental Data LLC, the company behind Ridgeline.
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plant → generate → Ridgeline
The complex would rely primarily on natural gas, with diesel as a backup fuel source.
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complex → rely → source
Power generated on-site, rather than purchased from the regional grid, could ease some concerns about the project's effects on electricity rates.
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Power → generate → rates
It does not, however, resolve concerns over air and water pollution.
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It → resolve → pollution
Located on a reclaimed coal-mining site, plans are for an initial 291 acres that could eventually expand to 10,000 acres — 15 square miles — and include parts of neighboring Grant County, according to local news reports.
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that → locate → reports
Speaking to NPR, Casey Chapman, listed in court documents as Fundamental Data's "responsible individual," declined to speculate on the facility's ultimate size, saying only that "if fully developed … it would be thousands of acres."
Light pollution is a common complaint from residents living near data centers. Chapman says the company will use "well-designed" lighting to help minimize the effects of sky glow, in an effort not to jeopardize nearby Blackwater Falls State Park's pursuit of an official dark-sky certification.
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company → speak → certification
An analysis by the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, which hosts an annual star party in the region, found that Ridgeline's initial footprint could increase sky glow near Blackwater by 528%, transforming its nighttime rural sky to one comparable to a suburban area.
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footprint → host → area
(The same analysis found only a minimal impact on Spruce Knob.)
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analysis → find → Knob
But safety and security — not light pollution — take precedence, Chapman says.
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Chapman → take → precedence
The facility will be "an industrial plant that runs around the clock," he notes.
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he → run → clock
"Crews need proper lighting to operate and maintain equipment safely."
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Crews → need → equipment
Opponents face an uphill battle
Chip
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Opponents → face → battle
He runs White Grass Ski Touring Center, a popular cross-country ski area that he helped found 45 years ago.
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he → run → that
He is a fixture in the local community that he describes as "Vermont, with Southern hospitality.
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he → describe → hospitality
"If you're an outdoor person, this place is paradise," he says.
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he → say → ?
"People come here to get away from data centers.
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People → come → centers
People want dark skies here.
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People → want → skies
People want to have a peaceful, quiet recreational area."
Economic development, however, is a top priority for the state of West Virginia.
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development → want → Virginia
It ranks among the poorest in the country and has the unique distinction of having lost population since 1950.
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It → rank → 1950
John Deskins, director of the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research, says data centers could be a boon.
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centers → say → Business
…and 65 more, not listed.
The Aporia
