- Local lawmakers say the data center deal lacked transparency.
- Critics worry about water strain and natural gas pollution.
- Payment in lieu of taxes totals $360 million over 30 years.
- Concerns persist about compliance with the clean energy law.
- Legislators describe the approval process as a community “failure.”
Monday, November 24, 2025 — Two lawmakers from southern New Mexico told residents they believe Project Jupiter, a multibillion-dollar data center supported by $165 billion in government-backed bonds, moved forward without sufficient public involvement. During a community event, Representatives Angelica Rubio and Micaela Lara Cadena expressed concerns about the speed of the approval process, the project’s reliance on a troubled regional water system, and its plan to generate electricity from natural gas. They warned that these choices could worsen local pollution and place additional pressure on limited water resources.
Much of the criticism centers on whether the project will comply with New Mexico’s clean energy law, which requires utilities to steadily increase renewable energy use. Critics argue the project’s natural-gas-powered microgrid may not have to meet these standards for many years, while supporters maintain it will. Lawmakers also questioned whether a $360 million payment in lieu of taxes spread across three decades provides sufficient benefit for such a large public commitment. Representative Rubio described the process as a failure that left residents on the sidelines.
Joshua Bowling at Source New Mexico
reports on these developments. His article is republished below under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Southern NM lawmakers call data center Project Jupiter a ‘transparency failure’
by Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
November 21, 2025
Two southern New Mexico state representatives on Thursday evening told their constituents that they view Project Jupiter, the massive data center for which elected county leaders approved $165 billion in government-backed bonds, as a transparency failure that “sidelined” the community.
Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces) and Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Mesilla) spoke at a Thursday event hosted by the nonprofit organization New Mexico Water Advocates and expressed apprehensions that Project Jupiter’s plans to generate natural gas and tap into the region’s troubled water utility will exacerbate regional pollution and strain a water system that’s already pushed to the limit.
Rubio noted that she has seen several recent headlines questioning whether the nation is on the brink of an artificial intelligence bubble and characterized the decision to approve $165 billion for an OpenAI and Oracle data center as a “gamble.”
Project Jupiter pits demand for data against New Mexico’s finite natural resources
“When the industry itself is signaling instability…it’s reckless for public institutions to lock themselves into these long-term subsidies and abatements and these water commitments. New Mexico took this gamble at the exact moment the market is now wobbly,” Rubio said. “For New Mexicans, there has been this long history of being told that the next big thing is what’s going to save us, whether it has been Spaceport, whether it was Virgin Galactic, Facebook, film incentives pitched as these permanent engines…now it’s Project Jupiter.”
Although Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the data center as a $5 billion project in February, lawmakers and some southern New Mexico residents have voiced concerns over how quickly the deal appeared to come together. They also question whether the project’s $360 million payment in lieu of taxes — spread out over 30 years — is a fair return for $165 billion.
“When I first heard that the payment in lieu of taxes was going to be $360 million, I assumed that was annually,” Lara Cadena, who also serves as vice chair on the House Taxation and Revenue Committee, said. “To see that our county commission signed a deal to receive so little, I was just stunned.”
Critics take issue with the data center’s energy source, in particular. Plans call for a natural gas generating “microgrid,” a system that can solely rely on its own power rather than drawing from an existing grid. Project representatives have touted that as a way to prevent the data center from increasing nearby residents’ energy bills. But critics say the 2025 law that governs microgrids appears to exempt them from complying with the state’s landmark Energy Transition Act — which requires that utilities use 50% renewable energy by 2030 and 80% renewable energy by 2040 — until 2045, when it would be required to use fully renewable energy.
Sen. Michael Padilla (D-Albuquerque), who sponsored the legislative language in question, has previously disputed that characterization to Source New Mexico and insisted that the development must comply with every aspect of the clean energy law.
“It was a process failure, it was a transparency failure, it was a democracy failure,” Rubio said. “The community was sidelined.”
Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: info@sourcenm.com.
Image via Source New Mexico.
