New Mexico residents urged to organize against Project Jupiter data center, citing environmental and transparency concerns
An opinion piece urges New Mexicans to organize against Project Jupiter, a proposed data center by Oracle and OpenAI in Doña Ana County. Concerns include significant environmental impacts from energy and water consumption, hazardous waste, and a lack of transparency surrounding the project. Lawsuits have already been filed against Doña Ana County regarding transparency.
Lorien House, a semi-retired paralegal and legal researcher, argues that New Mexicans should organize against Project Jupiter, a large-scale data center planned by Oracle and OpenAI in Doña Ana County, citing significant environmental and transparency concerns. The New Mexico Environmental Law Center has already filed two lawsuits against Doña Ana County, alleging a lack of transparency surrounding the project.
House criticizes Oracle's "greenwashing" efforts, particularly the use of Bloom Energy's solid oxide fuel cells, which primarily run on natural gas and emit hazardous waste, including benzene. Despite Oracle's claims, these fuel cells are not considered "green," and the Bureau of Land Management has expedited a natural gas pipeline to support the facility. Concerns also persist regarding excessive water consumption by Jupiter's proposed "closed-loop" cooling system in a water-scarce region and potential groundwater contamination.
The opinion piece dismisses the promised economic benefits, such as jobs, as largely exaggerated, noting that data centers generate few permanent positions and Oracle has a history of corporate misconduct. House highlights other issues like the "heat island" effect in southern New Mexico and the perceived abundance of data centers in the U.S. She also notes reports of another data center three times the size of Project Jupiter being proposed in Lea County, urging residents to organize.