What's next for the old Twin Valley High School property

The short version: The county board had a public hearing on its agenda for Monday, Nov. 2, on giving the old Twin Valley High School property at Pilgrim's Knob to the county's Industrial Development Authority (agenda). An energy company, Diversified Energy, has talked publicly about putting a fuel cell there that would turn coal mine methane into electricity (Cardinal News). The board's official minutes of the Nov. 2 vote have not been posted yet.

What the records show

Twin Valley closed when four high schools were combined into Southern Gap High School, which opened this year (Cardinal News).

On Sept. 14, the board tabled a hearing and a vote on an "option to purchase" the old school property (Sept. 14 minutes). No action was taken (Sept. 14 minutes). The county attorney said the county did not yet have a deed to the property, so it could not act that night (Sept. 14 minutes).

The county administrator said that once the board receives the property from the school system, it will transfer it to the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) (Sept. 14 minutes).

The Nov. 2 agenda listed a 6:15 p.m. public hearing on that transfer, followed by a vote on a "Quitclaim Deed of Gift" from the county to the IDA (agenda).

Deeper layer

What the company has said. At a community meeting at the Whitewood Community Center in October, Diversified Energy employees said a first phase would be one fuel cell producing 1.6 megawatts, on the sports fields and flat land around the school (Cardinal News). A company engineer said it would create 10 to 20 jobs (Cardinal News). Who would buy the power has not been made public. A company spokesman said supplying data centers is "one potential opportunity out there" among many (Cardinal News).

Who is involved. Supervisor Jeff Cooper is also a Diversified Energy employee, and he answered questions at the community meeting alongside a company engineer (Cardinal News). At the Sept. 14 meeting he said there would be "full transparency for the residents in the county before anything is done" (Sept. 14 minutes).

Money. Cooper said the county would not put money into the project. The company applied for a federal grant that has not been awarded (Cardinal News). The IDA director said no price for the property had been discussed (Cardinal News).

What neighbors asked. About 50 people came to the October meeting (Cardinal News). They asked about noise, emissions, property values and whether homes could get natural gas (Cardinal News).

The building is still costing money. The same Nov. 2 agenda asked the board to approve part-time workers to keep heating systems running at the closed Twin Valley, Grundy and Council high schools, and an extra $116,331 for Twin Valley's upkeep, power and fuel (agenda).

What we don't know yet

• How the board voted on Nov. 2. We will update this story when the minutes are posted.
• Any sale price, contract, or power buyer.

Sources

• Buchanan County Board of Supervisors, Agenda, Nov. 2, 2026
• Buchanan County Board of Supervisors, Minutes, Sept. 14, 2026
• Cardinal News, "A fuel cell energy project is in the works for one of Buchanan County's former high school properties," Oct. 23, 2026