BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
GILBERT, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will hold an in-person public meeting Sept. 18 at the Larry Joe Harless Community Center in Gilbert on two proposed off-grid electric generating facilities in Mingo County.
The meeting, scheduled from 4:30 to 8 p.m. with doors opening at 4 p.m., will focus on two draft air quality permits issued by the WVDEP in July. Those permits cover power plants designed to operate off the regional grid and supply electricity for two planned data centers in southern Mingo County.
TransGas Development Systems LLC plans to build its Adams Fork Harless Data Center Energy Campus off 22 Mine Road near Holden. The New York City-based company also plans to locate its Adams Fork Data Energy Center at the former Twisted Gun Golf Course at 2002 Twisted Gun Road in Wharncliffe.
Citizens may provide comments at the meeting. The public comment period will remain open until 5 p.m. the following day.
The WVDEP held a virtual hearing Aug. 18, but many residents were unable to participate due to poor internet access. After citizens demanded an in-person option, the state scheduled the meeting in Gilbert.
Residents have expressed concerns about how the projects could affect air quality, water resources and noise levels. Some of the discussion has also connected the data centers to a much larger proposal by the same developer, TransGas.
In March 2024, the WVDEP approved an air quality permit for TransGas’s separate Adams Fork Energy project near Wharncliffe. The permit allows the company to construct up to six ammonia plants, each with a daily capacity of 6,000 metric tons of ammonia, on reclaimed mine land formerly occupied by the Twisted Gun Golf Course.
The ammonia project, promoted as a clean-energy investment and job creator, remains highly uncertain. According to the Ohio River Valley Institute, the facility’s permit does not require carbon capture and storage, despite the company’s claim to capture up to 99% of emissions. As of mid-2025, TransGas has not applied for the necessary federal Class VI permits to inject carbon dioxide underground.
Construction has not started despite earlier promises to complete the project within 12 months. The timeline projection is now as long as 30 months.
ORVI warns that demand for “blue ammonia” is far from guaranteed, with proposed uses as a marine fuel or hydrogen carrier still speculative. Meanwhile, residents have raised concerns about potential water withdrawals from abandoned mine shafts and broader health implications.
Although the Sept. 18 hearing is about the air permits for the off-grid power plants for the data centers, the ammonia project looms large in current public discussion.
A significant turnout is expected for the meeting.
WVDEP public notice
According to a public notice on the WVDEP website, residents planning to participate in the in-person public meeting should complete the pre-registration form at https://forms.gle/16EakUxukcv12kMY9 by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17. Pre-registration is not a requirement, the notice states, but it will expedite the check-in process and ensure registration for everyone in attendance.
To sign up to ask questions and/or provide oral comments for the record, select “yes” when prompted during registration. The DEP will send a confirmation email with your responses.
Those without internet access may register by phone with Nicole Ernest at (304) 926-0499, extension 41256.
The time limit on oral comments is five minutes.
According to the notice, only written comments received within the specified time frame at the addresses below, or comments presented orally at the public meeting, will be considered before final action on the permits. All such comments become part of the public record.
Submit written comments by email to Jerry Williams at Jerry.Williams@WV.gov with “TransGas Development Comments” in the subject line, or by mail to WVDEP – Air Quality, Attention: Jerry Williams, 601 57th Street SE, Charleston, WV 25304.
The notice states that instructions for downloading additional information, including draft permits, applications and supporting materials, are available at dep.wv.gov/daq/permitting/Pages/NSR-Permit-Applications.aspx.