Students Protest Project Jupiter as New Mexico Air Permit Review Continues
Hundreds of New Mexico residents, including students in Santa Fe, protested Project Jupiter as the New Mexico Environment Department continued reviewing its air quality permit application. A legal request by New Energy Economy to dismiss the application remains unresolved, while state Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena plans to introduce a one-year moratorium on new data center projects.
Hundreds of people across New Mexico protested Project Jupiter, a proposed large-scale data center, including students from the New Mexico School for the Arts who marched to the State Capitol in Santa Fe. Protesters also gathered in Albuquerque outside U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich’s office over legislation that would accelerate permitting for energy projects. Heinrich’s staff said the bill would hold data centers accountable.
The New Mexico Environment Department declined to dismiss Project Jupiter’s air quality permit application after advocacy group New Energy Economy argued that it was incomplete. The decision allows the department’s review to continue but does not approve the permit; a decision is due Nov. 23, and a public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7. Developers say revised microgrid plans will reduce the project’s emissions by about 35 percent, while state Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena is preparing legislation calling for a one-year moratorium on new data center projects.