ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico is attracting major investments in AI data centers, but lawmakers and residents are concerned about how the projects could affect the state’s water supply, utility costs and communities.
Project Jupiter, an AI data center being constructed in Doña Ana County, is one of several projects sparking debate. Meta, also a large contributor in the tech industry in New Mexico, operates a data center in Los Lunas which it is expanding.
State Rep. Eleanor Chávez, who represents District 26 in Bernalillo County, supports a proposed moratorium that would give lawmakers time to evaluate the risks of data centers before counties and municipalities independently welcome more development.
“We need to be, for lack of a better word, protective of our community,” Chávez said.
Shop Talk requested comment from Meta and Project Jupiter for this reporting but did not receive a reply.
State Rep. Angelica Rubio, who is sponsoring legislation for a moratorium and a ban on data centers, also supports slowing development. Rubio pointed to multiple concerns surrounding Project Jupiter.
“I think one of the reasons is because of how bad Project Jupiter has sort of unraveled, and the lack of transparency with community members,” Rubio said.
Chávez said large areas of available land may be one reason developers are looking at New Mexico.
Oracle said in numerous public statements that data centers like Project Jupiter create jobs and economic growth. Oracle’s Project Jupiter is projected to generate $13 billion in economic impact for New Mexico over its construction and first 17 years of operation, according to an Mangum Economics analysis. But concerns have been raised over how many of those jobs will go to New Mexico residents.
A report reviewed by Searchlight New Mexico found that Project Jupiter listed no full-time or part-time jobs at the site as of June 30. The report recorded 2,105 construction jobs through that date, raising questions about when the benefits of those jobs will be felt by the local community.
Rubio said New Mexico has a history of offering tax incentives to industries that ultimately leave the state. She worries that data centers could follow a similar pattern.
“We need to look for something that’s more sustainable,” Rubio said.
Data centers rely on electricity to run servers and to keep equipment cool. Some cooling systems use large amounts of water every day, which could make it harder in a community that has already faced years of drought. According to a report from Source New Mexico, data center water use in New Mexico could jump to 23.6 billion gallons a year.
“If data centers come here to build and they use a lot of water, what water are we going to use to be able to farm or feed animals?” Chávez said.
Doña Ana County’s agreement with Project Jupiter said the data center will use 20,000 gallons of drinking water a day, with a 60,000-gallon limit. Oracle said the facility’s cooling system will use recycled water, so it won’t waste drinking water.
Peter Gonzalez, an Albuquerque resident opposed to expanding artificial intelligence and the continuation of Project Jupiter, said he worries about the environmental effects of data centers.
“We need clean air to breathe,” he said.
Chávez said lawmakers need more information about the projects’ current and future effects, tax incentives and employment promises.
“The major lesson is to listen to the community,” she said.
She criticized the lack of transparency around Project Jupiter, and said its development has led the public to mistrust elected officials. She also wants companies to pay for the electricity used at data center facilities, rather than shifting those costs to New Mexicans.
“Who benefits and who pays?” Chávez said.
(Jules Elizondo is a student at the University of New Mexico. You can follow her on social media at @julian__elizondo.)
