August 12, 2026 - Following President Trump’s $700 million energy investment announcement, WV Governor Patrick Morrisey discussed how it will affect the Mountain State.

According to a press release, Governor Morrisey announced that projects in Mount Storm and Moundsville will receive aid through 

"We took a historic step toward securing American energy independence at the White House on Thursday. Today, we begin putting those resources to work in West Virginia to strengthen our power grid, create jobs, support our coal industry, and help position America to win the global energy race," said Governor Morrisey.

The press release stated that two U.S. Department of Energy initiatives made to increase grid reliability, aid next-generation energy technologies, and modernize the current coal-fired generation, are included in the investments.

According to the press release, a $500 million fund that focuses on 13 existing facilities throughout ten states and will “fuel a massive $158.6 million modernization effort at the Mitchell Plant in Marshall County” is included in the first initiative. In addition, Terraspark was chosen to get up to $18.5 million in initial DOE funding with the help of the Department’s broader $350 million Coal Recommissioning and Modernization initiative.

The press release stated that at the plant in Moundsville, the Wheeling Power Company will continue the Mitchell Mechanical Draft Cooling Tower Modernization Project thanks to the statewide mobilization. The upgrade, which is “backed by $51,000,000 in DOE funding and $107,600,000 in non-DOE funding for a total project value of $158,600,000,” will aid in modernizing the Mitchell Plant. The upgrade will also help with lessening outage risks, aiding overall system efficiency, and increasing regional grid reliability.

According to the press release, an $18.5 million federal injection in Grant County will help fund essential environmental permitting work, front-end engineering and design, as well early technical studies. The 1.6-gigawatt mega-project, which is planned to go next to the current Mount Storm energy complex in Grant County, aims to “balance massive power generation with strict environmental stewardship.”

"For too long, America’s energy policies have put us at a disadvantage. President Trump is changing that. West Virginia has the resources, workforce, and expertise to lead America’s energy resurgence, and these investments are helping make that future a reality," said Governor Morrisey.

The press release stated that the TerraSpark campus “would be an economic engine for the region,” and would help with almost 500 permanent, high-paying jobs that span maintenance, new by-product industries, plant operations, and logistics, and once the groundbreaking starts, would help support hundreds of construction jobs.

According to the press release, in addition to power generation, the TerraSpark campus is intended to also “anchor a planned 10-acre West Virginia Coal Innovation and Training Center operated by West Virginia University.” It would also concentrate on “extracting critical minerals and rare earth elements from coal by-products while advancing research into new coal-based materials and technologies.”

The press release stated that the money is part of a comprehensive national security strategy, which is led by President Trump, that will protect important baseload power throughout ten states that includes West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Indiana, and Wisconsin.