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Retired federal judge James Browning was appointed to oversee the air quality permit hearing for Project Jupiter, a data center under construction in Santa Teresa for Oracle and OpenAI tenants. The New Mexico Supreme Court had temporarily paused the proceedings while reviewing petitions from project opponents but later allowed the hearing process to resume.
New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney appointed retired federal judge James Browning as the hearing officer for Project Jupiter’s air quality permit application. Browning replaces Max Shepherd, who recused himself after disputes over the hearing schedule and pre-hearing filings.
The project, being developed by Yucca Growth Infrastructure in Santa Teresa, includes planned microgrid power facilities for data center tenants Oracle and OpenAI. The New Mexico Supreme Court temporarily stayed the permit proceedings while considering petitions from opponents, then lifted the stay, although a hearing date has not been announced.