New Mexico
New Mexico’s 2026 data center politics are centered on Project Jupiter, with active ratepayer and microgrid oversight debate, but no statewide moratorium or ballot measure identified.
IARM Domain Signals
Energy/Power: the state’s central worry is whether large-load growth will shift grid upgrade and reliability costs onto ordinary customers; the governor’s council was explicitly created to address that risk (Governor’s Office). Water/Geology: in southern New Mexico, Project Jupiter has intensified concern that scarce water and aquifer resources could be diverted to a massive campus in an already stressed border region (High Country News).
IIKey 2026 Races
None identified. I did not find 2026 New Mexico races where data centers are a defined campaign issue, though the issue is likely to surface in the governor’s race and down-ballot local contests through water, electricity, and tax-incentive debates.
IIIMoratorium · Ban Status
No statewide data-center moratorium or ban was identified as of May 2026. The main state action is regulatory and executive rather than prohibitory: Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham created the Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council on April 22, 2026 to study large-load growth, including data centers, and recommend protections for ratepayers by Nov. 1, 2026 (Governor’s Office). Local opposition to Project Jupiter in Doña Ana County is strong, but I did not identify a formal local moratorium of national significance.
IVRatepayer · Cost-Shift Legislation
The most important current cost-allocation action is Governor Lujan Grisham’s April 22, 2026 executive order creating the Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council, which specifically directs the state to ensure that large-load growth, including data centers, does not disproportionately increase costs for residential, rural, tribal, and small-business customers (Governor’s Office). In the Legislature, the clearest data-center-linked rate/cost-allocation vehicle I found was Senate Bill 39, the Microgrid Oversight Act, which would have given the PRC authority over microgrids above 20 MW, required renewable content, and barred utility rate increases from microgrid power purchases; the bill appears in 2026 bill analysis materials but I did not confirm enactment (NM Legislature bill analysis). Interim legislative materials also flagged the need for unique rates and/or tariffs for large loads like data centers and crypto miners (NM Legislature handout; NM Legislature handout).
VBallot Measures
None identified. I did not find any November 2026 New Mexico ballot measure specifically targeting data centers or data-center-related utility cost allocation.
VITop Contested Sites
1. Project Jupiter / Stargate Santa Teresa Campus — Santa Teresa, Doña Ana County; BorderPlex Digital Assets and STACK Infrastructure; contested and under construction/permit review after a 4-1 county bond vote and sustained public opposition (High Country News, Organ Mountain News). 2. BorderPlex Project Jupiter bond / permit package — Doña Ana County; same developers; actively contested in county hearings and litigation, with community groups arguing the process lacked adequate water and environmental review (KFOX, KOB). 3. New Era Energy & Digital / Lea County AI campus — Lea County; announced/planned large-scale campus in a new-growth area, but I did not find similarly organized opposition yet (Server Country).
VIIActive Opposition Organizations
Empowerment Congress; New Mexico Environmental Law Center; Amanecer Peoples Project; Data Center Watch; local Sunland Park / Santa Teresa community organizers. These groups and coalitions have driven public comment, media pressure, and legal challenges around Project Jupiter (High Country News, KSFR, KOB).
VIIITalent · Workforce
Inclusion criteria satisfied: Construction labor + jobs-promised. Project Jupiter / Doña Ana labor and trades record (covered in RR_003, ready to pull through); Borderplex labor council positions. Primary-source verification pending — full content in v1.2. Sub-state and labor-market analysis available in the full RAIL briefing.
IXData Center Cluster Size
Emerging. New Mexico has a small but rapidly expanding footprint anchored by the Project Jupiter proposal and several operational or planned Albuquerque-area sites; public estimates range from a handful of facilities to about 22 listed data centers statewide, with one source citing 6 documented projects and $167.2B in announced investment (Server Country, Datacentermap).
XKey Quote
“Ensuring that large-load growth — including data centers and onshore manufacturing — does not disproportionately increase costs for residential, rural, tribal and small business customers,” according to the governor’s April 22, 2026 council announcement (Governor’s Office).