‘The people say stop’: New Mexico students walk out to protest data centers
Hundreds of New Mexico students and other protesters walked out and demonstrated in Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Albuquerque against Project Jupiter, a massive Oracle-backed data center planned in Doña Ana County. Protesters cited water consumption, environmental risks and a lack of transparency in county decisions, while lawsuits have challenged the approval of the project's industrial revenue bonds.
About 200 students from the New Mexico School for the Arts walked out in Santa Fe and marched to the state Capitol and governor's office to protest Project Jupiter, a massive data center being built in Doña Ana County. Demonstrations also took place in Las Cruces and Albuquerque, where protesters criticized the project's expected water use, proposed gas-powered generation and broader artificial-intelligence development.
The protests targeted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration and Doña Ana County commissioners, whom opponents accuse of limiting public input. The county's approval of $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds prompted lawsuits alleging violations of the Open Meetings Act. Project Jupiter's updated air-quality permit remains under review, with a public hearing scheduled for December in Sunland Park, while environmental advocates continue efforts to halt or delay the project.