New Mexico and El Paso Spent Millions on Climate Plans. Three New Data Centers Could Undo Them.
The post New Mexico and El Paso Spent Millions on Climate Plans. Three New Data Centers Could Undo Them. appeared first on ProPublica .
New Mexico and El Paso have spent millions on climate plans, but three upcoming data centers could undo their efforts. Meta is constructing a data center near the border of New Mexico and Texas, while work is underway in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, on Project Jupiter, also built by Oracle. A third large data center project is planned near Fort Bliss Army post in east El Paso.
Together, these data centers, each with their own power plant, could emit millions of tons of greenhouse gases annually. They will also release air pollutants that affect local air quality and human health. New Mexico has set state-level greenhouse gas reduction targets, but Texas has not. While New Mexico can regulate air quality and impose noise requirements, it cannot do so for Texas projects.
Residents living near the data centers have no say in their impact, as state borders do not extend to the air they breathe. Despite the desire for climate change mitigation, local governments approved these projects in a region experiencing rising temperatures. Texas approved a data center sales tax break in 2010, which could cost the state $3.2 billion in revenue over the next two years.
New Mexico declined to pass a similar tax break in 2021 but approved a law allowing data centers to use natural gas for electricity generation in 2025, exempting these microgrids from renewable energy requirements.
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