The Project Jupiter air quality permit hearing process will resume as the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously denied an environmental group’s petition against the required permitting process.
On Thursday afternoon, the state's high court filed a brief order denying New Energy Economy's petition challenging Project Jupiter developer Yucca Growth Infrastructure’s air quality permit application with the New Mexico Environment Department.
In August, the state Supreme Court granted a stay on the air quality permit after the environmental group filed a petition against the proposed 2.46 GW microgrid that would use Bloom Energy Fuel cells to power the massive AI data center campus.
The stay is now lifted.
New Energy Economy Executive Director and Senior Attorney Mariel Nanasi called the decision disappointing, adding what they asked of the supreme court was for extraordinary relief.
“We went to the Supreme Court because we believed the rules of this proceeding were stacked against meaningful public participation. We sought a fair opportunity for the public to obtain the evidence, test the claims being made by the applicant, and present its case before New Mexico decides whether to authorize an enormous new source of pollution,” she said.
Former hearing officer Max Shepard recused himself after the New Mexico Environmental Law Center and the Center for Biological Diversity filed petitions arguing that Shepard had shown bias towards Yucca Growth Infrastructure.
NMED has yet to appoint a new hearing officer and set a new hearing date. We’ll continue to follow this story and bring you any new developments as we learn of them.
