New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, have invested millions of dollars in climate action plans designed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, three massive data center developments currently underway or planned across the state line threaten to undermine these regional goals. The projects, driven by the growing demand for artificial intelligence services, are located in a population center of 1.2 million people and are expected to generate emissions equivalent to those of more than two million cars per year when fully operational.
The developments include Project Jupiter, an Austin-based Oracle facility in Doña Ana County, New Mexico; a Meta Platforms data center in northeast El Paso, Texas; and a larger, planned project on the Fort Bliss Army post in east El Paso. Despite their proximity and shared environmental impact, regulators in Texas and New Mexico have assessed these projects separately due to the lack of federal climate legislation. This fragmented oversight has left local officials and residents concerned about air quality, water supplies, and the effectiveness of their respective climate strategies.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive leaders and environmental advocates argue that the absence of federal regulation has created a regulatory gap that allows industrial projects to bypass local climate commitments. New Mexico state Rep. Sarah Silva, a Democrat whose district borders the Meta site, stated that emissions do not respect state lines and that the situation highlights the need for federal intervention. "This is why we need federal regulation," Silva said. "How do we knit something together that makes sense for our region when actually this is the job of the federal government?"
Silva noted that while her state has the authority to regulate air quality and noise within its borders, it has no jurisdiction over construction activities in Texas, even when those activities are only a few hundred yards away. Similarly, residents in west El Paso have limited input on Project Jupiter despite sharing an aquifer that crosses the state boundary. New Mexico state climatologist Dave DuBois told El Paso Matters that the data centers are "going to undo a lot of the very expensive and very meaningful work a lot of people are doing," emphasizing the disconnect between state-level climate planning and industrial development.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative perspectives emphasize the economic benefits and local autonomy that have driven the approval of these projects. Local governments in El Paso and Doña Ana counties approved the data centers after offering tax incentives to attract corporate investment, create jobs, and position the region as a hub for technology companies. The source material notes that these local officials profess a desire to mitigate climate impacts while simultaneously pursuing economic growth through industrial partnerships.
Texas has taken a different approach to climate policy than New Mexico, not codifying greenhouse gas reduction targets into state law. This regulatory environment has allowed the state to approve numerous data centers, with The Texas Tribune reporting 596 data centers in operation or planned across the state as of early September. Proponents of the development argue that state and local efforts are sufficient and that federal mandates could hinder economic competitiveness. The projects represent significant capital investment in a region facing rising temperatures and economic challenges, with officials prioritizing job creation and infrastructure development alongside environmental concerns.
What the Numbers Show
According to research by The Texas Tribune, Texas alone has 596 data centers that are either in operation or planned as of early September. The three specific projects in the El Paso-Las Cruces metro area are expected to emit millions of tons of greenhouse gases annually. When fully built out, their combined emissions will be equivalent to the planet-warming emissions released by more than two million cars in a year.
The population center encompassing El Paso and parts of southern New Mexico is home to 1.2 million people. The data centers will also release air pollutants such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. While paperwork submitted to state regulators indicates that the Meta and Project Jupiter facilities are expected to release these pollutants at relatively low levels, Shaolei Ren, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Riverside, noted that even small increases in air pollution can negatively impact communities close to and downwind of the sites. "The health impacts can be significant for local communities," Ren said.
The Bottom Line
The clash between local climate plans and industrial development in the El Paso region illustrates the broader challenges of regulating data centers in the absence of federal climate law. Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School, stated, "We’ve never had a national climate law passed by Congress. And so what we’ve had in this country are primarily state and local efforts." This regulatory fragmentation allows projects in one state to impact neighboring states without coordinated oversight.
Moving forward, the region faces continued tension between economic incentives offered to tech giants and the long-term environmental goals outlined in the costly climate plans adopted by New Mexico and El Paso. The projects are part of a nationwide wave of data center construction driven by AI demand, raising questions about how local communities will manage the environmental trade-offs of hosting critical digital infrastructure. Residents and elected officials are increasingly scrutinizing the impact of these facilities on water supplies, household electric bills, and air quality, suggesting that the debate over regulatory authority and environmental protection will intensify as construction progresses.