By Brett Dunlap
For The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Parkersburg – West Virginia will be leading the nation’s energy independence, Gov. Patrick Morrisey told a group of community leaders Thursday in Parkersburg.
The governor was at the Wood County Resiliency Center for a ceremonial signing of the Strategic and Critical Resources Act (Senate Bill 648) after he appeared in Clarksburg earlier to sign the Comprehensive Energy Policy and Development Plan Act of 2026 (House Bill 5381) that were passed during the 2026 Legislative session. Both are expected to help bring good-paying jobs to the state, Morrisey said.
“We want to make sure the Mid-Ohio Valley has a chance to really grow and reach its potential,” he said. “This is the future of our state. I am so optimistic about West Virginia’s future and all the amazing things that are going to happen.”
SB 648 says certain minerals and materials are essential to national security, the welfare of this state, energy reliability, critical infrastructure and economic stability, and that their availability is vulnerable to supply disruptions and foreign dependence. The bill promotes the development and availability of strategic and critical resources through uniform statewide regulation and reserves regulatory authority to the state and federal governments.
“We know that West Virginia is America’s energy state, whether you are talking about natural gas (from the Marcellus and Utica shales) or the coal fields and the incredible amount of coal we still produce,” he said. “The numbers are staggering, and they set West Virginia up for an incredible future.”
West Virginia ranks No. 2 in the country in coal production, No. 5 in natural gas production and No. 5 in overall energy production, Morrisey said adding the state needs to leverage those resources to get to a better place in the future.
“A lot of time those resources used to come out of the ground, but then shipped out of state,” the governor said. “That was not maximizing the resources for West Virginia.
“We have been working on something a little different, trying to monetize the value of the gas and coal that comes out of the ground so we can employ more people here in West Virginia with good-paying jobs.”
The governor called the Strategic and Critical Resources Act and the Comprehensive Energy Policy and Development Plan Act of 2026 “two good bills.”
Morrisey said around $12 billion in capital investment in the state has been announced since October, which is expected to create 11,000 jobs in the private sector.
The governor previously announced the 50 by 50 Plan, where by 2050, the state will be producing 50 gigowatts of electricity. All of this helps protect America, the governor said.
“One of our great national security threats is China,” the governor said. “China is still producing a massive amount of coal and coal-fired power plants.
“They are outstripping America in terms of energy production. That is a pretty serious problem. America has to step up to meet that challenge.”
It also plays into the fight for data supremacy as data centers will need power.
“That is exactly what we are trying to do,” Morrisey said. “We are trying to fuel that power need out of West Virginia.”
The state has commitments for over 3 gigowatts in new energy and discussions are ongoing with others for more.
“We are having good conversations right now that can lead to generational wealth opportunities for our citizens,” Morrisey said. “Practically, that means good-paying jobs for our young people that are coming out of school.”
The governor talked about job opportunities in the gas and coal industry as well as people seeking vocational education to become plumbers, sheet metal workers, contractors, electricians and more.
There are estimates that the state will need 15,000-20,000 construction jobs over the next few years. That construction leads to more permanent jobs as a result of those projects as companies move into the state, Morrisey said.
“For the first time, we are keeping the resources and the money here in the state, and that is going to allow us to lift up our standard of living and strengthen our economy,” he said.
Morrisey said he worked with lawmakers to pass the bills.
“It is everyone coming together saying `West Virginia will be a major player in America’s energy dominance strategy,’” Morrisey said.
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