Parsons Advocate – There’s a lot I think you should know about the power plant and data center proposed near Davis and Thomas, AKA the Fundamental Data Ridgeline Project. I write this out of deep concern about my friends, neighbors, and all residents of Tucker County, including those I’ve never met. My tone is meant to be friendly, thoughtful, and community building, with a gentle reminder that the power plant/ data center issue is not political. Although I don’t think this project matches the character of Tucker County’s landscape, I could support it if it were in a safer location.
Read the full op-ed.
Grab your goggles folks, because we need to dive in to see the inconvenient truths about this project. We can all agree we need both more and better paying jobs for our residents. More tax revenue for our county would be a good thing. Money is a powerful motivator for both those who have plenty and those who are in need, sometimes distorting judgement or morals. One could become rich selling drugs or stealing cars, but most would argue that these are dangerous, inappropriate sources of revenue. The dangers of this power plant so close to Davis and Thomas are a different kind of sell-out: selling out our health and well-being without any clear promises of jobs or tax revenue. Let’s talk about these.
JOBS. This power plant is very different from Mount Storm, so it is not a good comparison. Casey Chapman, the spokesperson for Fundamental Data won’t commit to any number of jobs, types of jobs, pay rate; wouldn’t ensure jobs would go to Tucker County residents or even West Virginia residents, nor would he commit to any training programs for our residents to gain employment at the plant or data centers. If he had a good deal for Tucker County, why won’t he go on the record about it with any news source? We know data centers employ very few people (Wall Street Journal) and that most data center jobs are during the construction phase. Typically those jobs are contracted out to outside companies (Business Insider).
