New Mexico Attorney General Intervenes in Project Jupiter Data Center Court Cases
The New Mexico Attorney General has intervened in two court cases related to Project Jupiter, challenging its air permitting process and emergency groundwater use approval. This comes as U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez proposes federal bills to protect residents from data center costs and require disclosure of water and energy use. Project Jupiter is facing growing scrutiny in southern New Mexico.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has intervened in two ongoing court cases concerning "Project Jupiter," a data center development in southern New Mexico. The Attorney General's office is challenging the state's accelerated air permitting schedule for the project, alleging that the timeline was pushed forward after Project Jupiter representatives met with the Governor's Office.
Separately, Torrez's office is disputing an emergency well approval for the project, arguing that using agricultural water for data center construction does not qualify as an emergency under state law. The Attorney General is asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to intervene in both cases to prevent further progress on the project.
Simultaneously, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez has backed two federal bills aimed at regulating data center development. One bill seeks to shield residential and small-business electric customers from increased costs, while the other would mandate data center companies to disclose their water and energy consumption to state and local governments. These actions highlight the increasing scrutiny and policy debate surrounding data centers like Project Jupiter in New Mexico.