New Mexico Regulators Schedule Hearing for Controversial Project Jupiter Data Center Permit
New Mexico's Environment Department has scheduled a public hearing in October for Project Jupiter, a controversial hyperscale data center planned for Santa Teresa. The project, intended for Oracle and OpenAI, includes a natural gas and fuel cell power facility projected to emit 10.1 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, drawing significant opposition and calls for a statewide moratorium on data center development. The project has already faced delays due to the state denying a pipeline extension.
The New Mexico Environment Department has scheduled a public hearing for October 19 concerning the air quality permit for Project Jupiter, a hyperscale data center under construction in Santa Teresa, Doña Ana County. The facility, intended for use by Oracle and OpenAI to train artificial intelligence software, includes four data centers, an office building, and a microgrid power facility that would use natural gas and fuel cell technology. Critics, including local state legislators and community groups like Food and Water Watch, have voiced alarm over the project's projected 10.1 million tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions, advocating instead for major solar power investment.
Project Jupiter has faced significant hurdles, most notably the New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands, Stephanie Garcia Richard, twice denying permission for Energy Transfer to build a pipeline extension across state trust land to supply gas to the site. This denial has led to delays, with Oracle expressing concern that the late October hearing date could jeopardize jobs and tax revenue for Doña Ana County and the state.
Opponents have also pushed for a statewide moratorium on data center development. The air quality permit hearing will allow technical evidence presentation by October 1 and rebuttal testimony by October 12, with public comments also accepted. The NMED's Air Quality Bureau is expected to make a decision on the permit by late November.