Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) — Democratic New Mexico lawmakers are proposing a moratorium for the 2027 legislative session that would temporarily block new large-scale data centers from being built in the state. They say they need time to create rules for water use, energy demand, and emissions before approving any new projects. The legislative push comes as Project Jupiter, a development in Santa Teresa, continues to move forward. State Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena says that “Jupiter” is a massive hyperscaled AI data center that kind of popped up, and Dona Ana county voted on and approved a major tax break for the project before certain questions were answered. The proposed moratorium would not affect Project Jupiter, but it would put future data center projects on hold.
