Gov. Patrick Morrisey unveiled a USD 12 billion data center investment for Mason County, West Virginia, during his appearance at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Business Summit at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs.

The project, known as Project Tamarack, is being developed by Starwood Digital Ventures, an initiative of Starwood Capital Group, and will be located in West Columbia, just outside of Point Pleasant.

A Major Investment for Mason County

Morrisey made the announcement before an audience of business leaders at the annual summit, framing the project as a direct result of legislation passed in recent years designed to attract large-scale technology investment to the state.

Starwood Digital Ventures has already received certification for a high-impact data center at the site. "USD 12 billion, that's pretty good," Morrisey said at the event.

"If you see the charts, once again, more jobs. This is building on the legislation that we've put together just a couple of years ago."

The governor said that conversations with Starwood Digital Ventures began fewer than six months ago, making the speed of the announcement notable given the scale of the commitment involved.

Who Is Starwood Digital Ventures

Starwood Digital Ventures is an initiative of Starwood Capital Group, a firm that already operates data centers in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. The company is also currently developing a large data center campus in Wilmington, Delaware, which is planned to include 11 buildings spread across approximately 580 acres of property.

Starwood Digital Ventures CEO Anthony Balestieri appeared on stage at Morrissey's request to speak briefly about the announcement.

He described the project as an opportunity to bring community-conscious infrastructure development to the Mountain State.

"SDV is very excited to leverage our decades of experience delivering community-conscious infrastructure to make, we're calling it Project Tamarack. Project Tamarack is a major contributor to a legacy of success here in West Virginia," Balestieri said.

Balestieri also cited West Virginia's regulatory clarity as a factor in the company's decision to invest there. "West Virginia has been at the forefront of defining a clear set of standards for responsible development," he said.

"We appreciate that leadership and we're on board with being on Team West Virginia."

Infrastructure and Utility Commitments

One of the more notable elements of the announcement involved the financial structure of the project's infrastructure development. Morrisey emphasized that West Virginia electricity ratepayers will not bear the costs associated with bringing the data center online. Starwood Digital Ventures will fund the project's infrastructure costs directly rather than passing them on to consumers.

Project Tamarack will make use of existing Appalachian Power and AEP infrastructure already located at the property, reducing the need for entirely new utility construction.

Morrisey also highlighted the environmental design of the facility, noting that Starwood has announced a closed-loop cooling system intended to minimize water consumption.

"Starwood has announced that they have a closed-loop cooling system, which is going to minimize water use," Morrisey said. "Starwood is going to fund the project's infrastructure costs, rather than pass them on to West Virginia ratepayers."

Local Hiring and Educational Partnerships

According to a release accompanying the announcement, the project will include efforts to hire from local communities in the region surrounding Mason County.

Project Tamarack is also expected to include partnerships with Mountwest Community and Technical College and other educational institutions in the area, with the aim of developing a pipeline of local workers trained for jobs connected to the facility. Morrisey spoke broadly about the expected economic ripple effects of the investment on the surrounding community.

"Teachers are going to benefit, restaurants are going to benefit, retail stores are going to benefit, our kids are going to benefit, our families are going to benefit," he said.

"The numbers are truly astounding. Once again, that's the beginning of what we think this project will look like."

Mason County's Growing Technology Profile

The Starwood announcement adds to what is becoming a significant concentration of large-scale technology and industrial investment in Mason County. The county is already home to Nscale, which is developing the Monarch Compute Campus.

National reports published last week indicated that artificial intelligence company Anthropic will rent one-third of the Monarch Compute Campus under a USD 45 billion deal.

Mason County is also the site of ongoing development by Nucor Steel West Virginia, which is building out property in Apple Grove.

The accumulation of major investments in a relatively rural county of West Virginia represents an unusual concentration of capital, and Morrisey's remarks at the Chamber of Commerce summit positioned the Starwood announcement as part of a broader pattern of economic development tied to data infrastructure and technology.