New Mexico’s Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has denied Energy Transfer’s applications for a second time to build a natural gas pipeline segment that would fuel Oracle’s ambitious AI data center project. The rejection, which came on July 14, creates a significant obstacle for one of the largest planned data center developments in the country.
The decision follows an initial denial back in March, making it clear that state regulators have fundamental concerns about the project’s impact on state trust lands, emissions, water usage, and resource protection.
What’s actually at stake
The pipeline segment in question covers roughly 0.6 miles of state land.
The rejected ‘Green Chile’ pipeline would deliver natural gas to Project Jupiter, Oracle’s planned AI data center complex spanning approximately 1,400 acres with a targeted capacity exceeding 2 gigawatts.
