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Committee approves Commerce rule for microgrid districts, sets 4-mile "nearly contiguous" test
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Summary
A committee approved a Department of Commerce rulemaking under House Bill 4983 to certify microgrid districts and high-impact data centers, defining "nearly contiguous" property as parcels within 4 miles of each other, setting a 2,250-acre size cap for contiguous property, and limiting out-of-district electricity sales to 10% to the wholesale market; the rule was reported to the full Senate.
Counsel explained the committee substitute for House Bill 4983, a rule that would allow the Department of Commerce to certify microgrid districts and high-impact data centers.
Counsel said the rule requires petitioners to be registered to do business in West Virginia, to make good-faith efforts to negotiate for electricity with the local utility (unless an exception applies), to avoid soliciting utility customers to relocate into a proposed district, and to have an interest in and control over the real estate that comprises the microgrid. The rule allows certified microgrid districts to deliver a maximum of 10% of generated electricity outside the district and only to the wholesale market, and places a cap of 2,250 acres on the entirety of a nearly contiguous property.
On the question of how to define "nearly contiguous property," counsel described the rulemaking history: the notice version set a 1-mile limit, an agency-approved draft used 1.5 miles, and the adopted language increases that to 4 miles. Counsel also said petitioners seeking high-impact data-center certification must submit economic, financial and engineering information, attestations about critical IT loads and proximity to sensitive places, and that certified entities will file annual confidential reports; the secretary must provide written reasons for adverse decisions and decisions are appealable through the normal contested-case section of code.
Senator from Jefferson noted a handout with frequently asked questions addressing concerns such as water and electric usage and thanked counsel; no further substantive objections were raised. The vice chair moved to adopt the strike-and-insert amendment as described by counsel; the committee adopted the amendment, voted to report House Bill 4983 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it do pass, and adopted a title amendment.
The rulemaking language now advances to the full Senate as the committee recommended.
