The Socorro, New Mexico community has started a petition against a proposed 2-gigawatt data center powered by a 10-gigawatt solar array. KRWG Local News Fellow Abigail Salas spoke to the community member who started the petition.
Val Thomas and other concerned individuals have started to do their own research on Green Data Centers, the company behind the proposed data center. Thomas says the company’s CEO Jason Bak does not have a reputable past.
“There’s just nothing concrete that this man has done. But he's coming here now, and he’s telling us that he can build the largest data center in the world, along with the largest solar array in the world. Having never completed a project of this size or even a 10th of the size," Thomas said.
In 2017, Bak was the CEO of Solar Alliance. He proposed to the city of Murphysboro, Illinois, a solar array that would be built in a dormant flexible paper, foil and plastic packaging manufacturing facility. According to El Defensor Chieftain reporting, Hillsboro Mayor Will Stephens confirmed the solar array was never completed.
Bak has done presentations for the city council, and the Socorro electric co-op, but Thomas says the Socorro community has not seen them.
Community members have concerns about whether his presentation is accurate.
Thomas runs a Facebook page called Concerned Socorro where updates and community research are posted including background on Green Data, Baks’ failed projects, and AI photos that are being posted of the project. One was posted on LinkedIn by Green Data Centers’ consultant.
Thomas says the land that this center would go on is used for explosive testing; there are also ranchers, and BLM land, which she says causes concern about how this would impact the land.
“We just know that they’ve said it's behind a mountain on the land, but we’ve not seen an actual map. If they're going to put in that giant solar array, it's going to raise the temperature; it’s going to affect our migrating animals. It’s going to affect our soil and our ecosystem. No to mention these ranchers that have heads of cattle. We know that there is sound related pollution that can be up to 15 miles away from the site in some cases,” Thomas said.
In a statement, New Mexico Tech Interim President Michael Jackson said no official decision has been made. He said, “Our priority is to ensure that any potential path forward is thoroughly evaluated and aligned with the best interests of New Mexico Tech and the broader community."
Thomas has posted a petition on the Facebook page and has spoken with county commissioners about creating a memorandum of understanding on data centers.
“I love my community. And I wanted to say, you know, I am not against technology, I'm not against the advancement. I just, you know, want it to be done properly and with somebody who actually knows what they're doing,” Thomas said.
KRWG has Reached out to Jason Bak and Green Data Centers, and we will provide an update if and when we receive a response.
