Organ Mountains, Desert Peaks National Monument in Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Southwestern USA, tranquil arid desert land and plains with curved paved road and Yucca wilderness plants.
New Mexico blocks key pipeline segment for Project Jupiter, forcing a reroute and raising fresh questions on timeline and environmental permits. (Image by Naya Na/ Adobe Stock)
Technology
2 min.Read

Pipeline Blocked—But not Dead? Project Jupiter Faces a Reroute Dilemma in New Mexico

A state denial halts part of Project Jupiter’s pipeline, but officials say the project can proceed—if developers find a new route off state trust lands.

Juan Oliveros
By Juan Oliveros
Last Updated:

The New Mexico State Land Office’s decision to block a crucial pipeline section has sparked a crucial question: Can Project Jupiter still proceed? Officials say the answer is yes. But not without changes.

“Applicants will need to find a route that does not include state trust lands,” Assistant Commissioner of Communications Joey Keefe said. Keefe’s statement signaled not the end for the proposed 17-mile pipeline tied to the data center project.

The 17.7-mile natural gas pipeline, dubbed the “Green Chile Project,” would fuel Project Jupiter, a massive data center. It will transport up to 400,000 dekatherms of natural gas everyday from El Paso, Texas, to southern New Mexico.

Most of the route crosses federal and private land. In X post, Criterion Research said the Dallas-based company has already filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

But a 0.63-mile segment that passes through state trust land in Doña Ana County has become a dilemma.

The State Land Office rejected the lease application on March 20. In her letter addressed to Transwestern Pipeline Company, Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard ruled that granting access is not in the best interest of the state’s trust. The decision blocks pipeline construction on that portion, but not the entire project.

Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based company, is behind the proposal. The company said the pipeline is still in the planning phase. It emphasized that they have yet to determine the final route.

“We are currently performing civil, environmental, and cultural surveys to determine the safest route with the least environmental impact,” said company spokesperson Vicki Granado. The final route will be determined after this work is completed, she added. FERC, which oversees interstate pipelines, will decide the project’s final route.

However, uncertainty looms over the timeline. The Dallas-based company had projected the construction could begin as early as April. This timeline follows the end of the public input period on April 15. The company plans to finish the project by August.

Environmental groups argued the State Land Office’s decision exposes deeper issues with the project. Kacey Hovden, a staff attorney of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, said the undefined path of the pipeline highlights broader concerns about Project Jupiter’s readiness.

She pointed out that the decision on air-quality permits for the gas-fired power plants the pipeline would serve has already been pushed back to July. These sequencing issues raised red flags for the project. The project, Hovden said, seems to be advancing infrastructure plans ahead of the needed environmental approvals.

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