By Michelle Compean, Fernanda Theresa Compean & David Baake | Chair, Southern NM Group Rio Grande Chapter, Sierra Club
Southern New Mexico Group Project Jupiter Raises Concerns Over Pollution, Transparency. Beware the Sleight of Hand. If Something Seems “Too Good to Be True,” It’s Worth Investigating
The 21st century has seen an advancement in technology like no other point in history, but due to the rapid pace of these advancements, we are often unaware of the potential downsides. State and federal governments have taken certain steps when it comes to the supervision and regulation of emerging technologies, but these steps are often insufficient to address potential risks. Worse, the public is often left unaware and uninformed.
Project Jupiter — a massive new data center planned for Doña Ana County in southern New Mexico — is an example of private companies rushing ahead with development without adequate oversight and transparency. The developers promise to bring significant monetary investment and job opportunities. But there has been a troubling lack of transparency about the project, which is especially worrisome given how fast the project is moving.
There’s no doubt that the regional economies of the El Paso-Las Cruces area are going to see massive changes if the project moves forward. But the environmental harms may be drastic as well as the developers intend to install a large natural gas plant to power the facility, but they have not been transparent about how big it will be or the pollution impact. According to notices published in November 2025, the project will emit about 500 tons of ozone-forming nitrogen oxides per year. That is a major public health concern in an area that struggles with dangerously high ozone pollution already. The November notices also report the plant will emit a staggering 12.7 million metric tons of green-house gases per year — considerably more than the 8.5 million metric tons emitted annually by the entire El Paso metro area. An October notice showed an even greater climate impact, apparently underscoring the fact that even the developers are unclear regarding the true impact of the project. And we haven’t even touched the topic of the water demands of the project.
If the Project Jupiter developers truly want to partner with the community, it is imperative they not leave us in the dark about the risks involved. Better still, the developers should use solar power and battery storage instead of fossil fuels to run their power grid. This would be easily affordable, particularly since the region is one of the sunniest places in the country. It would also demonstrate a commitment to delivering positive change for our community.
More information on Project Jupiter – https://projectjupitertogether.com/
Michelle Compean is a senior at Pebble Hills HS in El Paso, Texas.
Fernanda Theresa Compean is a senior at UTEP, studying Art.
David Baake is the Chair of the Southern New Mexico Group of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club.