February 10, 2025 - WV Gov. Patrick Morrisey said support for West Virginia’s energy industries will be a key component of his economic development strategy.

The governor announced the establishment of the Energy, Infrastructure and Competitiveness Council, an initiative under his “Backyard Brawl” plan.

“We know that for West Virginia to unleash its true potential, we have to be an energy powerhouse, and that means taking advantage of all of our energy resources,” Morrisey said.

Industry associations representing the state’s oil, gas and coal sectors will closely monitor the upcoming session of the West Virginia Legislature as lawmakers work to codify the governor’s energy goals.

Charlie Burd, president of the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, said his organization is excited about the prospect of new leadership in Charleston.

“We feel pretty excited to work with Speaker (Roger) Hanshaw, Senate President (Randy) Smith, and Gov. Morrisey,” Burd said. “As attorney general, Patrick was quite instrumental in advancing the state’s position on energy-related issues, particularly natural gas-related issues. So we’re really looking forward to what this session can bring.”

West Virginia remains the nation’s fourth-largest producer of natural gas, Burd said.

The state produced a record 2.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2022, more than five times greater than in 2012, with about 95% coming from shale gas wells, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“West Virginia is an energy-producing state. We’re very proud of our role,” Burd said. “With the amount of natural gas we have — it’s clean-burning, it’s abundant, it’s efficient — you can rest assured that our industry wants to develop natural gas electric generating infrastructure in this state if we possibly can.”

Chris Hamilton, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said new leadership at the state and federal levels presents a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to bolster the industry.

“With Trump in the White House, Morrisey in the (Governor’s) Mansion, and Randy (Senate President Smith) heading up our legislative activity, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity across the board,” Hamilton said.

Smith, a former coal miner who has served in the Legislature since 2017, was praised by industry leaders.

“We’re very pleased to see Randy ascend to the Senate president position with the gavel in hand,” Hamilton said. “It’s always fortunate to have someone who has been in the trenches of the industry and various managerial roles at the helm of the Senate body.”

The coal industry is looking to work with lawmakers and state officials to attract data centers and bitcoin mining operations to invest in West Virginia, Hamilton said.

“We’ve joined the economic development professionals in that regard, working with AEP and FirstEnergy to see if we can attract a data center or crypto bitcoin miners into the state to take advantage of our low-cost electricity from one of our nine in-state, coal-fired electric generators,” he said. “That has emerged as a top priority.”

The association also hopes to secure financial incentives for the state’s mine operators, Hamilton said.

“To help mining operations build out their mining portfolios — expansion projects of existing operations and new operations,” he said.