A proposed pipeline that would supply natural gas to Project Jupiter’s power plant has caused environmental organizations to protest. KRWG Public Media Local News Fellow Abigail Salas spoke to environmental lawyer David Baake about his concerns.
The proposed pipeline is a $60.2 million, 17-mile pipe that would transfer natural gas from an existing El Paso Natural gas pipeline to the data center’s power plant. It would go through Southern Doña Ana County.
In March, the New Mexico State Land Commissioner denied Transwestern Pipeline Companies' request to build a part the pipeline. The pipeline would be built on federal and private land; the State Land office denied the company permission to build on state land, which has forced the pipe to be rerouted.
Environmental groups have filed a protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) against Transwestern Pipeline companies' efforts to fast track the construction of the pipeline.
Transwestern Pipeline requested to begin construction under a FERC “Blanket Certificate”. This is a permit that automatically approves projects. David Baake is working with the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter. He says the organizations are asking for a full environmental review of the pipeline and powerplant to be done before it is approved.
“The powerplant that Project Jupiter has proposed would be the single largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the entire state of New Mexico. It would actually emit more than double the amount of pollution of Albuquerque and Las Cruces combined,” Baake said.
We’ve reached out to Transwestern Pipeline Company. In the meantime, in documents made available by Energy Transfer they say the project “is not expected to have a significant adverse impact on the quality of human health, the environment, or affected landowners." These documents were submitted to FERC by Transwestern Pipeline. Baake says this project could have a significant impact on air quality.
“Not only is the power plant going to be a major source of emissions, but the pipeline will include also, compressor stations, compressor engines that themselves are large sources of air pollution. We want to make sure that all of these impacts are thoroughly studies and that we make the right decision for the community on what happens to our environment,” Baake said.
According to the documents, the pipeline company would commit to having environmental inspector reports published every week.
Baake says the overall goal of the protest is to minimize environmental impact. He believes that the project is a violation of the Clean Air Act, which is a federal law that regulates polluting emissions.
“If Project Jupiter comes back with a proposal to, you know, use almost all solar and maybe a very small, natural gas plant to it, sort of as backup and then they would perhaps come back with a proposal for a smaller pipeline as a result. Then, that would be, you know, something that we would probably consider a victory,” Baake said.
Oracle, BorderPlex, and Bloom energy have announced that Project Jupiter will use an updated power design, Energy Fuel cells, to fully power the AI Data Center. This change will “dramatically reduce water use and protect local air quality,” according to the press release.
The Environmental Department has until July 21st to conduct a full environmental review of the project. Before then, they committed to holding public hearings, dates for which have not been announced.
