January 30, 2026 - A new bill on the senate floor could mean big things for the coal industry in West Virginia.

Senator Brian Helton introduced Senate Bill 623, which will offer tax breaks to data centers that are located in the state. The bill would allow a tax break for the data center’s equipment and reduce business costs.

Data centers require immense amounts of energy, which could mean increased coal production to meet the energy needs.

To qualify, a data center must create at least 50 new jobs and use West Virginia coal. Senator Helton says this would be a huge boon for the state.

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“This Bill simply says that because we have an abundance of coal and natural resources, we want to attract data centers in to utilize that because as we all know we want to get our coal mines up and running and get our men and women in the industry back to work,” said Helton

The bill heads to the Committee on Economic Development and the Committee on Finance. It will need both committee approvals before advancing to the floor for a full Senate vote.

Critics of data centers cite their high energy requirements and potential harm to the environment as detractors.