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Data center campus · Off U.S. 48 between Thomas and Davis, Tucker County, West Virginia

Ridgeline Facility (Fundamental Data)

Approved as of Aug. 26, 2026

A Purcellville, Va., company holds a state air permit for a ten-turbine gas and diesel power plant between Davis and Thomas meant to anchor a future data center campus; local and conservation groups are still contesting the permit. Also known as: Ridgeline Power Plant, Fundamental Data data center.

Cite← West Virginia data centers
Barbour CountyBerkeley CountyBoone CountyBraxton CountyBrooke CountyCabell CountyCalhoun CountyClay CountyDoddridge CountyFayette CountyGilmer CountyGrant CountyGreenbrier CountyHampshire CountyHancock CountyHardy CountyHarrison CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyKanawha CountyLewis CountyLincoln CountyLogan CountyMarion CountyMarshall CountyMason CountyMcDowell CountyMercer CountyMineral CountyMingo CountyMonongalia CountyMonroe CountyMorgan CountyNicholas CountyOhio CountyPendleton CountyPleasants CountyPocahontas CountyPreston CountyPutnam CountyRaleigh CountyRandolph CountyRitchie CountyRoane CountySummers CountyTaylor CountyTucker CountyTyler CountyUpshur CountyWayne CountyWebster CountyWetzel CountyWirt CountyWood CountyWyoming CountyRidgeline Facility (Fundamental Data) · Approved · 1,656 MW
Power1,656MW reported · stated
Site500acres

Who is behind it

ProjectRidgeline Facility (Fundamental Data)Also: Ridgeline Power Plant, Fundamental Data data center
Developer and teamFundamental Data LLC (through Fundamental Data LLC (Purcellville, Va.))
End userNot found in the recordsNot yet named in any record or credited report we have found.

The record, newest first

  1. Opponents said they would ask the state Supreme Court to hear their challenges after the two procedural dismissals. (The Dominion Post, Aug. 31, 2026; West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Aug. 31, 2026)

  2. The Intermediate Court of Appeals dismissed both appeals without reaching the merits, finding the final-permit appeal belongs at the state Supreme Court and the draft-permit appeal moot; the permit stays in effect. (West Virginia Watch, Aug. 27, 2026; West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Aug. 31, 2026)

  3. DEP's air quality director found that a largely redacted agreement covering a 291-acre tract showed the company controlled the site. (West Virginia Watch, Aug. 17, 2026)

  4. Commerce sent the company a letter setting a deadline to seek high impact data center certification under H.B. 2014; on July 1 it accepted the company's position that the data center part was still conceptual and withdrew the notice. (HD Media (republished by Moorefield Examiner, Mountain Media), Aug. 8, 2026)

  5. The director of the state Data Economy Office said the state had received no certification application from Fundamental Data. (West Virginia Watch, June 11, 2026)

  6. The state Supreme Court of Appeals turned down the company's request to hear the appeal directly; briefs were then filed in the Intermediate Court of Appeals. (West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, June 17, 2026)

  7. At a Davis town hall, company representatives outlined about 10,000 acres across several sites, a second gas plant, a possible nuclear plant in Grant County, a large solar array and about 1,500 acres of data centers. (West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, June 17, 2026)

  8. The Air Quality Board denied all but one objection, leaving the permit in place and ordering additional stack testing once the plant operates. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Feb. 6, 2026; West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, June 17, 2026)

  9. Tucker United, Friends of Blackwater and the Highlands Conservancy filed a second appeal seeking release of emissions data the DEP had withheld. (WDTV, Oct. 23, 2025)

  10. Tucker United, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the Sierra Club appealed the permit to the Air Quality Board, arguing that information was improperly withheld and that the plant should not be classed as a synthetic minor source. (The Intermountain, Sept. 19, 2025)

  11. The DEP's final determination approving the permit was signed after more than 1,600 written comments; it added formaldehyde limits, hourly fuel-use monitoring and continuous output monitoring. (The Intermountain, Aug. 20, 2025)

  12. The DEP opened public comment on draft permit R13-3713; a public meeting was held July 17. (The Intermountain, Aug. 20, 2025; WV Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality, June 18, 2025)

  13. Davis town council voted 5-0 to state its opposition to the proposed data center complex. (Country Roads News, May 31, 2025)

  14. West Virginia Watch reported that company representatives had told the Wall Street Journal the full campus could reach about 10,000 acres in Tucker and Grant counties. (West Virginia Watch, May 28, 2025)

  15. The Intermountain reported a 500-acre, roughly 1,656 MW plant near the Tucker County landfill; county officials believed it would power an onsite data center. (The Intermountain, April 12, 2025)

  16. Fundamental Data applied to the DEP Division of Air Quality for a ten-turbine power station with three large diesel storage tanks (listed at 10 million gallons nominal each); the application says the plant will not sell power to the grid and targets operation by 2028. (WV Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality, March 18, 2025)

  17. Fundamental Data and the seller, Western Pocahontas Properties, signed a purchase and sale agreement for the site, as later cited in the permit file. (HD Media (republished by Moorefield Examiner, Mountain Media), Aug. 8, 2026; West Virginia Watch, Aug. 17, 2026)

Conflicts and open questions

  • Acreage varies by source: 500 acres for the plant (2025 reporting), a 291-acre tract in the site-control filing, and about 10,000 acres for the full multi-site concept.
  • Capacity is disputed: 1,656 MW (The Intermountain, April 2025) vs. at least 750 MW (WVPB, August 2026); no MW figure appears in the DEP documents opened.
  • The application lists the diesel tanks at 12.6 million gallons in one attachment and 10 million gallons nominal elsewhere; the draft permit uses 10 million.
  • As of late August 2026 the court challenge was headed to the state Supreme Court of Appeals; no Supreme Court action was found as of Oct. 26, 2026.
  • Status uses 'approved' for the issued air permit; there is no state data center certification and no public data center tenant.

The full record

Status note
The DEP air permit for the off-grid gas plant (August 2025) was upheld by the Air Quality Board in February 2026, and on Aug. 26, 2026 the Intermediate Court of Appeals dismissed both challenges on jurisdiction, leaving the permit in force while opponents seek Supreme Court review; the company has told Commerce the data center portion is still conceptual.
Power note
The Intermountain reported 1,656 MW in April 2025; WVPB in August 2026 described at least 750 MW. The public permit application gives about 5,650 MMBtu/hr of total heat input across ten turbines and no MW figure; opponents say key details were redacted.
Evidence
Primary public records
Size class
50 MW or more (tracker scope)
Map position approximate, from the reported address or area. Updated Oct. 17, 2026.