Tensions increase over tight timeline for Project Jupiter’s air quality permit
Proceedings over Project Jupiter's air quality permit are becoming increasingly contentious as the New Mexico Environment Department faces a tight deadline to review major changes to the data center's fuel-cell power plant. Opponents argue the revised application is incomplete and that the public hearing schedule should be delayed or the permit denied.
Project Jupiter, a planned large data center in Santa Teresa, is facing continued regulatory uncertainty over an air quality permit for a natural-gas fuel-cell plant intended to provide its power. The New Mexico Environment Department has not dismissed the revised application or changed a public hearing scheduled to begin Dec. 7 in Sunland Park, even as agency attorney Kelsea Sona said the timeline may be impossible because of extensive technical analysis required after project changes.
Hearing officer James O. Browning denied New Energy Economy's motion to dismiss the application as administratively incomplete but allowed limited discovery. Oracle, the project's primary company, announced a redesigned fuel-cell system that it said would reduce emissions by about 35%, while Bloom Energy's revised plan would use 1,600 of 2,462 allocated megawatts. New Energy Economy representatives criticized developer Yucca Growth Infrastructure for seeking to maintain its corporate schedule despite the revisions and urged that public health and due process take priority.