Oracle does damage control after New Mexico data center backlash

Oracle is touting changes to its plans for a massive 1,400-acre, 2+GW data center campus in New Mexico as it awaits a key permit for the project, hoping its new plan will be enough to win over regulators despite extensive public backlash against the project. The campus in question is Stargate’s $165 billion Project Jupiter data center, one of a series of super-campuses OpenAI and its partners are seeking to build around the world. Oracle is the tenant for the Project Jupiter campus in New Mexico. Project Jupiter’s plans initially called for the construction of a natural gas plant on the site to help power the massive facility. But that plan was scrapped in favor of Bloom Energy’s fuel cell technology after local leaders and the public strongly voiced concerns about emissions and water usage. Oracle’s development partner, Yucca Growth Infrastructure, is currently seeking an air quality permit for the revised plan from the New Mexico Environmental Department. Public comment on the plan closed  July 7. But before the comment window closed, Oracle published an op-ed, issued a blog, and publicly posted a letter to the Department in an apparent effort to show residents it is listening to them.