New Mexico Supreme Court rejects 2 emergency petitions on Project Jupiter permits
The New Mexico Supreme Court rejected two emergency petitions challenging environmental and water use permits for Project Jupiter, an AI data center under construction in Santa Teresa. Environmental groups and the Attorney General had argued against the permits, citing concerns over air quality and water usage in a drought-stricken region. Despite the ruling, opponents have vowed to continue their fight against the project.
The New Mexico Supreme Court has rejected two emergency petitions filed by environmental groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and New Energy Economy, challenging key permits for 'Project Jupiter', an AI data center under construction in Santa Teresa. The petitions disputed the Office of the State Engineer's decisions regarding water use and the New Mexico Environment Department's air quality permit for the project.
Colin Cox, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, expressed disappointment with the ruling, criticizing the Office of the State Engineer for allegedly 'rubberstamping' water use by data centers. Senator Carrie Hamblen, representing Dona Ana County, echoed these concerns, stating that New Mexicans remain worried about the project's impact on land, air, and water, and vowed to continue the fight for accountability.
The rejected petitions involved a challenge to the state's approval of an emergency replacement well for the data center's construction, which opponents argued bypassed required public processes and drew over 100 million gallons from the drought-affected Lower Rio Grande Basin. The New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez supported this petition, arguing the emergency exception was improperly applied. A separate petition challenged the air quality permit for Project Jupiter's proposed power plant, which would utilize 2,275 methane-fueled fuel cells to generate 2.46 gigawatts of electricity, described by the NMDOJ as an unprecedented concentration of such technology. The Attorney General's office also raised concerns about the compressed timeline and lack of discovery in the air permit hearing process.