Even chestnuts get political in the US data center wars
Environmentalists to big tech – “keep your hands off our nuts.”
Chestnuts stand in a way of a data center. Photo by Mau47/Shutterstock
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- Nscale plans the Monarch Compute Campus in Mason County, West Virginia, to support Anthropic’s computing needs.
- An environmental group says the project threatens 200 rare American chestnut trees at a former state nursery.
- Governor Patrick Morrisey says the trees will be relocated on the property under professional supervision in late 2027.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
A rare grove of American chestnut trees has become another point of controversy amid the ongoing nationwide confrontation over data centers.
An environmental advocacy group warned that a data center project in West Virginia threatens the grove, while the governor has promised to protect it.
In short, AI infrastructure provider Nscale is developing the Monarch Compute Campus in Mason County, West Virginia. It would reportedly be used to meet the computing needs of Anthropic, the developer of Claude.
However, environmental advocacy organization Global Justice Ecology Project warned that the project endangers the grove, claiming that a rare grove of 200 blight-surviving American chestnut trees at the former Clements State Tree Nursery in Mason County "is scheduled to be bulldozed for an Anthropic data center."
"Planted in the 1970s from wild surviving American chestnuts, this orchard is a vital "genetics library" and the primary seed source to restore the species across West Virginia," the advocacy group said, calling on people to pressure companies and state officials.
The call has apparently reached West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey's office, with the governor announcing a plan to preserve the historic trees.
"Under the preservation plan, the existing trees will be relocated to a more suitable environment within the property, potentially as part of an arboretum or integrated landscaping," Morrisey said.
The governor added that the relocation is scheduled for late 2027, "during the trees' dormant season, under professional arborist supervision."
According to the governor, Nscale will pay for the relocation.
The entire data center project is estimated to require a $20 billion investment and could be completed by early 2028, the company said.
