New Mexico Students Protest Data Centers and Permitting Reform Bill
Hundreds of students in Santa Fe and Albuquerque walked out of classes to protest data center development, including Project Jupiter, and to support a statewide data center moratorium. Protesters also criticized U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich’s permitting reform bill, while state officials and Heinrich’s office defended their positions on energy, environmental and tribal protections.
Students from the New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque joined protests organized by Youth United for Climate Crisis Action against data centers and other industrial projects. At the state Capitol, protesters demanded that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham stop Project Jupiter and backed a statewide data center moratorium; the project still needed an air-quality permit for its power source. State Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, a critic of Project Jupiter, said she would continue pressing for accountability, while representatives of the governor said she would review letters left by the students.
In Albuquerque, more than 100 protesters marched to Sen. Martin Heinrich’s office to oppose his bipartisan permitting reform bill, arguing that it would weaken environmental protections and tribal consultation while accelerating data center and energy projects. Heinrich’s spokesperson said the legislation would hold data centers accountable for energy use, lower utility costs and strengthen tribal consultation requirements. The All Pueblo Council of Governors separately warned that the bill could weaken protections for Pueblo sacred places.