Worries over water as a giant data center moves into the New Mexico desert

A massive data-center project, dubbed Project Jupiter, is rising on the arid outskirts of southern New Mexico near Santa Teresa, drawing both awe and questions from county officials and local residents. The 1,400-acre complex would consume about 2.5 gigawatts of electricity and, if fully funded, could attract roughly $165 billion in investment and power more than half of the state’s needs. Oracle and OpenAI are listed as tenants, and experts note Jupiter’s scale, its own power generation capability, and its desert location set it apart from most other centers. Locals worry about water use amid drought and competing uses.

Water scarcity is central to the debate. Jupiter has purchased existing water rights from a neighboring sod farm to secure millions of gallons needed to cool the facility, while New Mexico’s State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson says the plan will not deplete farmers’ supply because the center uses a repurposed water right. Still, the exact water demand remains uncertain as numbers change and officials weigh trade-offs between jobs and agriculture in Doña Ana County.