New Mexico
Understanding New Mexico’s data center boom | Opinion
After years of failure to land a “big fish” business for New Mexico’s economy (or effectively use the oil and gas revenues to grow the economy) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham with the help of her Economic Development Secretary Rob Black have lured no fewer than three large data centers to New Mexico. These data centers are being built to serve the booming world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and they will have profound impacts on New Mexico.
It is our view that having these data centers locate in New Mexico is better than having them locate elsewhere. While we have many differences of opinion with this governor, we are pleased to see her get serious about growing and diversifying New Mexico’s oil-dependent economy albeit quite late in her second term.
Sadly, the governor and legislature have chosen not to use broad based economic reforms like deregulation or tax cuts to improve New Mexico’s competitiveness. But, with the failure of her “preferred” economic development “wins” like Maxeon and Ebon solar both of which the governor announced a few years ago, but haven’t panned out, the focus on a more realistic strategy is welcome and long overdue.
Currently, three new data centers are slated to be built in New Mexico:
- Oracle’s Project Jupiter in Santa Teresa with an investment of $165 billion.
- Project Zenith slated to be built in Roswell amounts to a $11.7 billion investment.
- New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. While the overall investment is unclear, the energy requirement is the largest of the three at 7 gigawatts (that’s seven times the power used by the City of San Francisco).
What is a data center? Basically, they are the real-world computing infrastructure that makes up the Internet. The rise of AI requires vast new computing power. It is critical that these facilities have uninterrupted electricity.
That electricity is going to be largely generated by traditional sources like natural gas and possibly nuclear. That contravenes New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act of 2019 which was adopted by this Gov. and many of the legislators still in office. Under the Act electrical power emissions are supposed to be eliminated in a few years.
With the amount of money being invested in these facilities and the simple fact that wind and solar and other “renewable” energy sources aren’t going to get the job done. In 2025 the Legislature passed and MLG signed HB 93 which allows for the creation of “microgrids” that won’t tax the grid and make our electricity more expensive, but the ETA will have to be amended or ignored to provide enough electricity for these data centers. There’s no other option.
New Mexicans have every right to wonder why powerful friends of the governor can set up their own natural gas microgrids while the rest of us face rising costs and decreased reliability from so-called “renewables.” Don’t get me wrong, having these data centers come to New Mexico is an economic boon.
But it comes tempered with massive subsidies including a 30-year property tax exemption and up to $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds. New Mexico is ideally suited as a destination for these data centers with its favorable climate and lack of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We shouldn’t be giving away such massive subsidies.
Welcoming the data center boom to New Mexico better than rejecting them and pushing them to locate in other states. There is no way to avoid CO2 emissions whether they happen here or somewhere else. But, there are questions about both the electricity demand and subsidies that must be addressed as New Mexico’s data center boom begins.
What will the Legislature, radical environmental groups, and future governors of our state do to hinder (or help) bring these data centers to our State? That is an open question that depends heavily on upcoming statewide elections. It is important that New Mexicans understand and appreciate these complicated issues.
Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Skies are partly to mostly clear with most similar or slightly milder than yesterday. Winds are a little breezy occasionally with the highest humidity values mostly from out east and to the north.
Air temperatures in the north are mostly starting off in the 30s to the low 50s. Elsewhere to the south, air temperatures are mostly ranging from around the high 30s to the low 60s.
Many areas from eastern New Mexico to the Pecos River Valley area will range from the high 60s to the 80s from north to south from high to low elevation. The northern higher elevations will mostly range from the high 40s to near 60°, while the northern valley floors to western and central areas will mostly range from the high 70s to the low 90s.
Southerly upper-level winds, in combination to the low-level moisture still lingering around the northern high elevations to out east, will lead to few thunderstorms capable of producing brief bouts of heavy rain, small hail, some lightning, & gusty conditions.
Ridging in the jet stream will then allow for clearer conditions, drier air, and for temperatures to rebound for the remainder of the week. However, slightly more thunderstorms will form for some eastern and mountainous areas late in the week, resulting in outflow-southeasterly winds to occasionally pick up.
Even hotter air returns late this weekend into early next week before thunderstorms are more likely to form next week.
Fog could cut visibility for the Thursday morning commute in eastern New Mexico before storms return and a severe weather risk builds Friday.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Fog could cut visibility for the Thursday morning commute in eastern New Mexico before storms return and a severe weather risk builds Friday.
Eastern New Mexico still has a very moist lower atmosphere for late May, with dewpoints in the 50s across the eastern plains, 40s through the Rio Grande Valley and 30s west toward Arizona.
That moisture will help low clouds and patchy fog reform late Wednesday night into early Thursday. The best chances for fog favor Clovis, Portales, Roswell, Tucumcari, Fort Sumner and Santa Rosa.
Some places could see reduced visibility Thursday morning, especially along Interstate 40, Highway 70 and Highway 285.
Low clouds and fog should gradually burn off by mid to late Thursday morning. After that, isolated to scattered afternoon thunderstorms are expected mainly along the east slopes of the central mountain chain.
Chief Meteorologist Eddie Garcia shares all the details in his full forecast in the video above.
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With less than a week before the 2026 Primary Election nearly 95,000 New Mexicans have voted early.
Expanded early voting began May 16 and will end on May 30. The Primary Election is June 2.
According to data released on May 26 by the Secretary of State’s Office, there have been 94,930 ballots cast since early voting began on May 4.
In Doña Ana County, there have been 6,294 voters in Doña Ana County who voted early. There have been 4,706 Democrats who have voted early with 1,567 Republicans and 646 who declined to state a party affiliation. There have been 2,023 residents who have voted absentee.
New Mexico has semi-open primary elections, which means voters who are not registered with a qualified political party may also participate in the election by selecting which major party’s ballot they want to vote on without changing their voter registration.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, there have been 9,000 voters in New Mexico who were not registered with qualified political parties, who have voted in the Primary Election ― 6,962 who voted in the Democrat Primary and 2,038 who have voted in the Republican Primary.
In Doña Ana County, 516 voters who were not registered with qualified political parties have voted in the Democrat Primary and 134 who voted in the Republican Primary.
Approximately 90,000 New Mexicans utilized early voting ahead of the 2024 Primary Election and 5,848 people voted early in Doña Ana County (4,195 Democrats, 18 Libertarian, 1,635 Republicans).
The total 2022 Primary Election turnout for the county was 16.41% or 15,499 ballots cast and the 2020 Primary Election turnout was 29.29% or 26,055 ballots cast.
Where to vote in Doña Ana County
Early voting at the Doña Ana County Government Center began on May 5 from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until May 29, and on Saturday, May 30 from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m.
Alternate site early voting locations will begin on May 16 at 11 a.m., and run through May 30 from Tuesday through Saturday.
The alternate site locations in Doña Ana County are:
- Anthony Library (750 Landers Anthony)
- HVPS Student Services (350 Main St. Hatch)
- Doña Ana County Community College (755 Prescott Anthony Dr. Chaparral)
- Doña Ana County Community College (2800 Sonoma Ranch Blvd. Las Cruces)
- Doña Ana County Community College (3365 McNutt Rd. Sunland Park)
- Las Cruces City Hall (700 N. Main St. Las Cruces)
- Mesilla Town Hall (2231 Avenida de Mesilla Mesilla)
- Corbett Center Student Union (1600 International Mall Las Cruces)
Doña Ana County voting locations on Election Day are open from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. Mailed ballots must be received no later than 7 p.m.
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