A massive project that will see the construction of four data centers on a 1,400-acre campus in Santa Teresa, New Mexico is moving forward after a contentious vote by the Dona Ana Board of County Commissioners.
What is referenced as Project Jupiter belongs to the Austin-based BorderPlex Digital Assets and is in every way large. Several weeks ago, commission members voted to approve publishing a notice of intent to issue upwards of $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds to fund the project.
But almost from the start, the project has sparked opposition from residents and environmental activists who have said they are concerned about the amount of power and water that will be required to operate the proposed facilities. Those concerns have been particularly heightened given that the quality of Santa Teresa’s drinking water has been an issue for residents for several years now.
Besides BorderPlex Digital Assets, the project is being developed by Stack Infrastructure of Denver, a company specializing in hyperscale data centers and colocation.
The industrial revenue bonds, which have now been finally approved on a 4 to 1 vote by the commission, will make it possible for developers to not have to pay property taxes. BorderPlex Digital, in return, is expected to pay the county upwards of $360 million over the course of the next three decades. That funding will partly go for improving water and wastewater infrastructure in the area.
In recent weeks a series of public input meetings were held in various locations in Dona Ana County to discuss aspects of Project Jupiter. Those meetings saw residents continuing to raise questions about the power and water usage aspect of the project, many carrying signs that read: “We can’t drink data.”
During those meetings, the developers said that the campus will be served by what is known as a closed-loop system of pipes designed to cool computer servers within Project Jupiter’s data center facilities.
The developers have additionally noted that Project Jupiter will see the building of a microgrid designed to independently power the campus.
September 22, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Rendering courtesy of Dona Ana County
