The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected two challenges to Project Jupiter and lifted orders that had paused state reviews of the proposed data-center complex near Santa Teresa. The short orders allow air-quality permitting and consideration of emergency groundwater use to resume, but they do not approve either permit or the development itself, according to Source New Mexico’s account of the September 17 rulings.
The distinction matters because the project still faces consequential administrative decisions. The New Mexico Environment Department must appoint a new hearing officer and set the next steps for an air-quality proceeding involving Yucca Growth Infrastructure’s proposed on-site natural-gas power system. The agency’s public docket for construction-permit application 10883 includes the application materials and submitted comments, but no final permit decision.
The court had temporarily stopped the air-permit hearing in August after challengers argued that the accelerated schedule impaired public participation. In a separate dispute, the court paused a State Engineer decision that allowed limited emergency use of existing groundwater wells. Thursday’s orders ended both pauses without a written explanation, leaving the permitting agencies to resume their work under their existing statutory authority.
Project Jupiter is unusually large for New Mexico. Doña Ana County describes the proposal as a data-center campus led by STACK Infrastructure and BorderPlex Digital Assets, with at least $50 billion in initial investment and as much as $165 billion over 30 years. The county says the project could support roughly 2,500 construction jobs and at least 750 full-time operational jobs. Those figures are projections from project agreements, not results that have already occurred.
The developers’ power plan is central to the state review. The proposed microgrid would use natural-gas fuel cells to serve the campus, making the air permit a key test of emissions controls and operating conditions. Opponents, including New Energy Economy and the Center for Biological Diversity, have raised concerns about air pollution, water demand and the pace of public review. Project supporters emphasize capital investment, tax revenue and employment. The court’s action resolves the immediate procedural challenges, not those underlying policy disputes.
The county’s project page says initial operations were anticipated in late 2026 and the first phase in 2028. Those target dates now depend in part on the restarted reviews. The scale of the proposal also means permit conditions governing backup power, monitoring and water use could shape both construction timing and long-term operations.
For residents, the next concrete milestone will be a new Environment Department schedule. A fresh hearing officer must determine how the record proceeds after the interruption, while the State Engineer can again consider the emergency-well request. The Supreme Court’s decision therefore removes a legal roadblock, but final state authorization remains contingent on separate agency findings and any conditions they impose.
