Data Center Project Planned In Bedington Area Of Berkeley County

^{The Observer has compiled a map showing the area of the planned data center project near Bedington, West Virginia. The map (image above) is based on our field research and interviews with residents.}

The area around the village of Bedington in Berkeley County has been announced as the site for the first “high-impact data center” project to be certified under West Virginia’s new rules to streamline the construction of data center and micro-grid projects.

>>> Images of Bedington below <<<

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced the project during a press conference in Charleston on February 26. Penzance, a Washington D.C.-based real estate investment, management and development company, was introduced as the project developer. The Governor ballparked the project at $4 billion for Penzance to construct 1.9 million square feet of buildings on the 548 acre site, with a total demand for 600 megawatts of power capacity. The Governor also said the project is self-funded, with no state investment.

Berkeley County officials expressed support for the economic impact of the data center project, but noted that local government agencies, including the Berkeley County Commission and Berkeley County Planning Commission, have no oversight of this project under the new rules West Virginia issued to implement the 2025 HB 2014 legislation.

Based on the description provided during the February 26 press conference, the project will occupy several parcels of land located near the intersection of Berkeley Station, Scrabble, and Bedington roads, just east of Potomac Edison’s Bedington 500/128 KV substation. On the map above, the data center project parcels are shaded in gray and the Potomac Edison property is shaded in dark blue.

The map also shows the flood risk zones that cover a significant portion of the planned project site. These flood zones are adjacent to the Opequon Creek, Hoke Run and several unnamed tributaries that flow into these streams.

The village of Bedington is located at the top of the map, along Beddington Road. There are also two clusters of residences to the east of the village that are not included in the project site.