Doña Ana County Residents Frustrated After Data Center Town Hall Becomes Job Fair
Community members in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, expressed strong frustration after a promised town hall regarding a data center project in Santa Teresa was changed into a job fair by the developers. Opponents cited concerns over environmental costs and the opaque approval process for the $165 billion project, Project Jupiter. County commissioners faced intense pressure from residents who felt their concerns were being disregarded.
Doña Ana County residents expressed intense frustration with county commissioners after a promised public meeting regarding a massive data center project in Santa Teresa, known as Project Jupiter, was changed to a "community open house and career fair" hosted by the developers. Opponents of the project, including Youth United For Climate Crisis organizer Esperanza, voiced concerns about the process, environmental costs, and the fast-tracked approval of $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds. The developers involved include Stack Infrastructure, Bloom Energy, Oracle, and OpenAI, none of whom had representatives present at the contentious county commission meeting.
Commissioners Susana Chaparro and Susie Kimble had advocated for a proper town hall in Santa Teresa to address community concerns. However, Commission Chair Manny Sanchez and County Manager Scott Andrews defended the open house format, with Andrews claiming the project was already attracting other businesses and that critics did not represent the broader county populace. Sanchez also suggested a town hall could become disorderly. Chaparro continued to push for a dedicated town hall, while Commissioner Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez suggested both types of meetings were valuable. Following Kimble's suggestion, Andrews agreed to develop a web portal for question submission, though a dedicated public meeting was deferred further.