The Giant Data Center in the Desert Rises

By Kent Paterson

Amid the landscape of yucca and creosote plants, artificial intelligence-driven Project Stargate took shape this week just a tad up the road from the U.S.-Mexico border crossing at Santa Teresa, New Mexico. A new road cut into the desert, construction machinery and an advance crew of contractors and workers were visible to passerby. Expect a lot more workers at this site in the coming days, many from out of state. 

Originally billed to local residents as $165 billion Project Jupiter, the development has stirred tremendous controversy in the borderland over residents’ concerns about potential negative environmental and economic impacts. Ultimately, the Dona Ana County Commission approved an ordinance last month that paves the way for large tax breaks to the project masters. 

Following the vote, Reuters, El Paso Matters and other media reported that the planned Santa Teresa data center was actually a component of the $500 billion Project Stargate rolled out last January 21 by President Trump, OpenAI, Oracle and the investment firm Softbank that proposes five big data centers across the U.S., including the Santa Teresa campus. 

Stay tuned for more on one of the biggest stories to unfold in the Paso del Norte borderland in recent times.