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A Transmission Line Brought Google Here · Commentary - TJ Meadows

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: News broke early Friday morning. Google has acquired land in
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Putnam County for a possible data center, and just like that,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: the chatter began. Some skeptical, a minority in my view,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: but many more seeing something else entirely opportunity. Now that
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: shouldn't surprise you. Putnam County has been here before. When
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Toyota chose to invest, this community didn't hesitate, they leaned in,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: and over time that decision paid dividends, more development, higher
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: property values, stronger schools, better infrastructure. Tays Valley, or as
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: I like to call it, the Greater Tays Metroplex, has
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: become one of the most desirable places to live in
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: West Virginia, at least I think so. But here's the
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: part you might not see at first glance. This wasn't
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: just about a welcoming community, one that seeks investment. No,
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  Speaker 1: the real driver is energy, specifically transmission seven hundred sixty
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: five thousand volts of It's the kind of capacity that
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: turns heads in the data center game. American Electric Power
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  Speaker 1: already has the line running nearby, and as state energies are,
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Nick Preservadi set on talk line Friday that grid will
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: power this data center. It makes the site so much
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: more attractive than it otherwise would be. You see, for
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: data centers, that combination land, water and massive transmission. That's
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: the sweet spot, the bullseye, and it tells us something bigger.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: America just doesn't need more power, It needs more ways
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  Speaker 1: to move that power transmission. Now Here in West Virginia,
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: we're sitting on something rare projects like Marl Valley Link.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: They're debated rightly, so property owners have real concerns. Those
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: need to be addressed. But Friday's news reframes the conversation
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: somewhat because high voltage lines don't just carry electricity, They
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: carry investment, They carry jobs, they carry possibility. More transmission
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: can mean more exports, and yes, megawatts may be the
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: most valuable thing we produce. But more importantly, it increases
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: the odds that demand comes here. More users, more industry,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: more opportunity. Maybe it's data centers, maybe manufacturing, maybe something
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: we haven't even imagined yet, and that means jobs, tax revenue,
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  Speaker 1: and a stronger, more diversified economy. But not just on
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  Speaker 1: power sent away, but power used right here at home.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Call me a fanboy, but this moment, this Google moment,
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  Speaker 1: was made possible because that transmission line was already here,
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  Speaker 1: and that merits serious consideration as we move forward.