Oracle and OpenAI Build $165 Billion New Mexico Data Center

Oracle and OpenAI are constructing Project Jupiter, a 1,400-acre hyperscale data center in the Chihuahuan desert of Doña Ana County, New Mexico. The project involves a projected $165 billion investment to generate 2.5 gigawatts of electricity. In exchange for the development, the project has pledged $360 million for schools and infrastructure, $50 million for water utility upgrades, and $12 million in annual payments to the county budget.

To address severe drought and a declining water table in the region, Oracle transitioned from natural-gas turbines to fuel cells and closed-loop recycled systems. The company also purchased existing water rights from a sod farm in Sunland Park to ensure cooling needs are met without over-pumping groundwater. The New Mexico State Engineer stated that the project utilizes existing rights and will not take water from farmers.

Despite these measures, the project faces opposition from the Center for Biological Diversity, the New Mexico Groundwater Alliance, and state legislators. Critics argue that the facility threatens already dwindling groundwater levels, particularly as a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling requires New Mexico to retire thousands of acres of irrigated farmland to increase water flow to Texas. State Representative Micaela Lara Cadena has specifically criticized the allocation of water to AI infrastructure while the state attempts to retire farmland for environmental survival.