Join The Fight!
We refuse extraction, and imagine a more ecologically sound, democratic, and equitable future in our Chihuahuan Desert community. Join us!
Fight Chihuahuan Desert Extraction (FCDX)
Fight Chihuahuan Desert Extraction emerged in response to the Project Jupiter development in Doña Ana County. We are a group of local grassroots organizers concerned about the projects’ long-term water usage, energy demands, and economic consequences in our desert ecosystem. Project Jupiter is a part of the larger Stargate Project, a massive $500 billion public-private initiative to build twenty AI data center campuses. The project is backed by multi-billion dollar AI companies, Open AI and Oracle, and their “local” partner, Borderplex Digital Assets. We object to the approval process our state and county government have taken to ensure Project Jupiter benefits. State regulatory loopholes, county financing, and ease of permitting have allowed construction to begin; all without sufficient public input, transparency or accountability. #StopProjectJupiter
Energy
AI data centers require enormous amounts of energy. to function. The data center boom is being primarily fueled by fracked “natural” gas. Promoted as the “least dirty” of the fossil fuels, natural gas still leaks methane all along the supply chain, threatening our communities’ air quality and capacity to meet critical climate goals. Project Jupiter presents their “microgrid” as the solution to not burdening rate payers, but they applied for TWO, SEPARATE, FOSSIL FUEL powered micro-grids that will require about 2,700–2,830 megawatts of power generation, and the re-opening of
a pipeline.
Water
AI data centers are water guzzlers. Project Jupiter will require at least 10,000 million gallons to fill its cooling system and they are planning to use Santa Teresa ground water to do so. The daily operational use (think bathrooms and sinks) is capped at 60,000 galls of water PER DAY. Developers have not disclosed how much TOTAL water, including for electricity and construction, and they have already submitted emergency applications to drill new wells.
This is happening in a community that does not have clean drinking water! Santa Teresa struggles with unhealthy levels of arsenic in their aquifer. Developers throwing 50 million dollars at the problem, will not resolve the fact that we do not have enough water in our desert! The Rio Grande reservoir storage fell to just 13% of capacity at the end of 2024 (Brian D. Richter
et al).
Economy
The county voted yes on a $165 billion in Industrial Revenue Bond (IRB) back in September.
The Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is a fraction of the project value.
We lose millions in property & gross receipts tax breaks, with the vague promise of jobs and an economy boost.
What is not being discussed is how A.I. is being trained to replace jobs. Developers promise 1,500 high salary jobs (this number has suddenly, and inexplicably increased from what they originally told us were to be 700 jobs). The majority of jobs are temporary construction positions, and there was no binding agreement on how many of those positions are to stay in-state. We know that construction companies out of Tucson and Austin have been contracted. Economic stability is less catchy than jobs, but a more promising framework for planning long-term community prosperity.
Future
Project would spew
13 million tons of green house gas emissions a year. This is more emissions than all of NM’s major cities combined, completely back tracking any recent progress our state has made
on emissions
In 2022 we witnessed the largest and most destructive fires in the history of New Mexico–the Calf Canyon/Hermits peak fires. In 2025, Albuquerque hit its hottest year on record. Scientists are now saying that we are on the brink of breeching the 1.5° C global warming threshold. Climate change is not a distant reality anymore. It is already impacting our communities here in New Mexico, and our so-called leaders are choosing to ignore this colossal threat.
Project Jupiter has made the bare minimum commitments to solar energy, and AGI and large language learning models are not the kind of technologies that would help us address the climate crisis.
Timeline of Events
A timeline of how the Project steam rolled through our democratic bodies
People are aware that they cannot continue in the same old way but are immobilized because they cannot imagine an alternative. We need a vision that recognizes that we are at one of the great turning points in human history when the survival of our planet and the restoration of our humanity require great sea change in our ecological, economic, political, and spiritual values – Grace Lee Boggs
Project Jupiter: A Generational Disaster
Annie Ersinghaus is an environmental filmmaker based in Las Cruces.