CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tucker United, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the Sierra Club sent a letter on July 16 asking the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to investigate whether Fundamental Data supplied accurate land ownership information on its air quality permit for the property identified as the site of its proposed gas and diesel fired power plant in Tucker County.
The power plant is tied to Fundamental Data’s controversial and ever-expanding high impact data center complex, which the company has said would span 10,000 acres of land across Tucker and Grant Counties.
WVDEP issued an air quality permit to Fundamental Data on August 15, 2025. In its permit application, the company stated that it had control of the proposed site through a purchase and sale agreement executed in July 2024.
However, a July 1, 2026, letter from the West Virginia Department of Commerce raises questions about that assertion. The Department of Commerce reported that its search of Tucker County property records found no property owned by Fundamental Data. The parcel identified in the air permit application is owned by Western Pocahontas Properties, Ltd., the largest private landowner in Tucker County.
“Fundamental Data lives in the brackish zone between being a microgrid and data center-related project and not having anything to do with data centers so they can skirt regulations and state rules,” said Nikki Forrester, director of communications for Tucker United. “The company has no prior experience with these types of developments and now it’s unclear whether they even own the land, despite claiming otherwise. We’re all for good economic development in Tucker County, but this project isn’t it. It’s time to invest in the people of West Virginia instead of out-of-state companies that have no interest in engaging with our community or following state regulations.”
In the July 1 letter, the Department of Commerce acknowledged Fundamental Data’s rebuttal that the plans for the project were in the “conceptual phase,” and that the proposed Ridgeline Project did not currently consist of property owned, operated or leased by Fundamental Data.
“Fundamental Data has yet to demonstrate that it has the experience, property control or realistic plan to carry out a project of this scale,” said Olivia Miller, interim executive director of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. “Instead, its ever-changing proposals have forced citizens, community organizers and state agencies to spend significant time and resources responding to what increasingly appears to be an amateurish, boom-chasing venture. West Virginia officials need to stop giving this company the benefit of the doubt and start rigorously enforcing the law. Our agencies exist to protect the public, not to help speculative developers profit from our land, natural resources and communities.”
The community groups’ letter asks WVDEP’s Division of Air Quality to conduct its own investigation into the facts surrounding Fundamental Data’s ownership or control of the proposed site. If the agency determines that information in the permit application was inaccurate, the groups are asking WVDEP to exercise its authority to suspend or revoke the permit for being based on false information.
“West Virginia’s rules are quite clear that, to get their pollution permit, the applicant must demonstrate ownership or control of the site,” said Jim Kotcon, conservation chair for the West Virginia Chapter of Sierra Club. “When Fundamental Data applied for their permit, they assured DEP that they did. But then when the West Virginia Department of Commerce asks, Fundamental Data insists that everything is ‘conceptual.’ West Virginia citizens have a right to know whether this company can deliver on their promises, and our state agencies should uphold their responsibilities.”
More than 1,600 public comments were submitted during WVDEP’s review of the permit, with the overwhelming majority opposing its issuance. Community and environmental groups have also committed significant resources to an ongoing appeal challenging the permit.
Appalachian Mountain Advocates submitted the letter on behalf of Tucker United, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the Sierra Club.
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Contact:
Olivia Miller, Interim Executive Director, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, olivia.miller@wvhighlands.org
Nikki Forrester, Director of Communications, Tucker United, comms@tuckerunited.com
