Oracle has scrapped plans for a natural gas plant at its massive New Mexico data center after months of public scrutiny, permit fights, and local opposition.
The sudden shift highlights how quickly artificial intelligence infrastructure plans can change as tech companies race to secure enormous amounts of electricity.
According to Business Insider, last week, Oracle said its Project Jupiter data center will instead use Bloom Energy fuel cells to generate power on-site. Oracle said Bloom's technology could supply up to 2.8 gigawatts of electricity. Data from the Department of Energy shows that's enough to power more than 2 million homes.
The facility is tied to a cloud computing deal between Oracle and OpenAI valued at $300 billion. The company had previously sought permits for a natural gas plant for the project. Those applications, filed in October with the New Mexico Environment Department, were withdrawn on April 27, according to state records.
The change came after mounting pressure. In March and April, federal and state regulators — including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and New Mexico's State Land Office — denied requests tied to a planned gas pipeline for the site, according to Business Insider.
Community concerns also intensified. State officials said they received more than 7,000 comments on the gas plant permit applications, many focused on water use and air quality. A public hearing that was expected in the coming months will no longer take place.
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Project Jupiter has become a flashpoint in a much bigger story: the rapid expansion of AI data centers and the strain they place on power systems, water supplies, and nearby communities.
Across the country, data centers are flooding utilities with requests seeking grid connections. To avoid long delays, many developers are pursuing "bring your own power" strategies and planning to generate electricity on-site instead.
Data center construction can carry major consequences for residents. Communities have pushed back against these projects over concerns about rising utility costs, noise, pollution, and local resource use. In New Mexico, Project Jupiter also faces two lawsuits from the New Mexico Environmental Law Center on behalf of local activists, who argue the project moved ahead before completion of key environmental and community-impact reviews.
Oracle is framing the switch as a response to "community priorities," saying in a press release that Bloom's technology will "dramatically reduce water use" and "protect local air quality" at the site, Business Insider reported. But Project Jupiter's fuel cells will still run on natural gas, according to new permit filings, and critics said that does not erase public health concerns.
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Regulators and public comments appear to have played a meaningful role in slowing the original gas plant proposal. The withdrawn permits and canceled hearing show that local oversight can shape even the biggest tech projects.
However, critics remain unconvinced by Oracle's pivot.
"They say they're responding to community concerns, but these have been things that have been voiced now for almost a year," said NMELC staff attorney Kacey Hovden, according to Business Insider. "Why didn't they do this in the beginning?"
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