Governor Morrisey Highlights Next Steps for West Virginia Following Historic White House Announcement ...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Governor Patrick Morrisey today detailed how West Virginia will benefit from President Trump's landmark $700 million energy investment announcement, with major projects in Mount Storm and Moundsville positioned to receive federal support through the Defense Production Act.

"We took a historic step toward securing American energy independence at the White House on Thursday," Governor Morrisey said. "Today, we begin putting those resources to work in West Virginia to strengthen our power grid, create jobs, support our coal industry, and help position America to win the global energy race."

The investments are part of two U.S. Department of Energy initiatives designed to strengthen grid reliability, modernize existing coal-fired generation, and support next-generation energy technologies. Under the first initiative, a $500 million fund targeting 13 existing facilities across 10 states will fuel a massive $158.6 million modernization effort at the Mitchell Plant in Marshall County. Simultaneously, Terraspark was selected to receive up to $18.5 million in initial DOE funding through the Department's broader $350 million Coal Recommissioning and Modernization initiative.

As part of this statewide mobilization, Wheeling Power Company will advance the Mitchell Mechanical Draft Cooling Tower Modernization Project at its plant in Moundsville. Backed by $51,000,000 in DOE funding and $107,600,000 in non-DOE funding for a total project value of $158,600,000, this upgrade will completely modernize the Mitchell Plant. The massive capital improvement is designed to enhance regional grid reliability, reduce outage risks, and improve overall system efficiency.

In Grant County, the $18.5 million federal injection will immediately fund crucial front-end engineering and design, environmental permitting work, and early technical studies. Planned adjacent to the existing Mt. Storm energy complex in Grant County, the 1.6-gigawatt mega-project is designed to balance massive power generation with strict environmental stewardship.

At full buildout, the TerraSpark campus would be an economic engine for the region, supporting nearly 500 permanent, high-paying jobs across plant operations, maintenance, logistics, and new by-product industries, along with hundreds of additional construction jobs when groundbreaking begins. Beyond power generation, the campus is expected to anchor a planned 10-acre West Virginia Coal Innovation and Training Center operated by West Virginia University. The center would focus on extracting critical minerals and rare earth elements from coal by-products while advancing research into new coal-based materials and technologies.

"For too long, America's energy policies have put us at a disadvantage," Governor Morrisey said. "President Trump is changing that. West Virginia has the resources, workforce, and expertise to lead America's energy resurgence, and these investments are helping make that future a reality."

The funding is part of a comprehensive national security strategy led by President Trump to protect vital baseload power across 10 states, which include West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin, and North Dakota.