New Mexico and Texas are pursuing ambitious climate goals while also backing a wave of data center construction that could increase greenhouse gas emissions, strain water and electricity supplies and undermine public health protections, The Texas Tribune reports. In December 2025, New Mexico officials announced a plan to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and El Paso city officials adopted their own climate plan a few months later.
In Doña Ana County, Oracle is developing Project Jupiter, one of the country’s largest data center projects. About 20 miles away in El Paso, Meta Platforms is building another major facility, while a third data center is being considered at the Fort Bliss Army post. Once fully operational, the projects could generate millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, comparable to more than 2 million cars, according to estimates cited by the Tribune. New Mexico state climatologist Dave DuBois warned the projects could "undo a lot of the very expensive and very meaningful work" communities are doing, The Texas Tribune reported.
The developments also highlight a regulatory gap. New Mexico has adopted legally binding greenhouse gas reduction targets, while Texas has not, so projects in Texas can affect neighboring New Mexico communities without being subject to the same climate policies. Rep. Sarah Silva, a Democrat from Chaparral, said her state has little authority over projects being built just minutes away in Texas, even when their effects could reach her constituents.
Despite the concerns, Doña Ana County and local authorities in the El Paso area have offered tax incentives to attract the developments. A Texas sales tax exemption for qualifying data centers could cost that state an estimated $3.2 billion over the next two years. New Mexico lawmakers declined to create a similar tax break in 2021, but in 2025 they passed a law setting new rules for private power systems like Project Jupiter’s microgrid.
Why It Matters
The region faces a central question of whether it can capitalize on the economic promise of artificial intelligence without sacrificing the climate commitments its leaders have made.
About This Story
Daily Reports is Brant.One’s news roundup. Each day we gather the New Mexico stories worth knowing from newsrooms across the state, sum them up and point you to the source. This one comes from The Texas Tribune’s reporting, and their original story has the interviews and full details.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit The Texas Tribune’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.
