Charleston, W.Va. – During a recent episode of “Just Three Questions!”, Chris Morris, who serves as the director of the newly formed West Virginia Data Economy Office, and West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner discussed data center development and the mission of the newly formed Office.
The WV Data Economy Office was established during the 2025 legislative session to promote West Virginia's development of microgrids and data centers. Morris serves as the state's single point of contact for industry, local governments, and stakeholders related to development of data centers and microgrids.
Morris said, "I don't see a future where we don't use data centers. My goal is to find ways that we can benefit, bring opportunity for jobs, bring additional revenue for projects, for new schools, for parks and for things that improve our daily life."
Secretary Warner said, "Carefully considered and located, data centers provide a pathway to advance West Virginia's economy through new construction, long-term jobs that will attract other tech businesses, and a substantial and much-needed tax base for local and county governments that desire them."
Morris added, "It's been my goal to create a process we can evaluate the reasonableness of a project, determine if it's in the best interest of the state and of the area, and then make a recommendation to the Secretary of Commerce and whether he should provide the designation for a micro grid development project or a high impact data center project."
The interview with Chris Morris and other recorded episodes of “Just Three Questions!” can be found on the WVSOS YouTube channel.
