Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces
By LILY ALEXANDER
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A New Mexico lawmaker pitching a bill to regulate microgrids like one planned in Southern New Mexico to power a massive AI data center said he has learned the state is in talks with up to a dozen other data centers.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces, the co-sponsor of Senate Bill 235, which is largely a response to Project Jupiter in Doña Ana County, said he learned of the scope of New Mexico’s data center recruitment plans during a recent conversation with the state’s economic development secretary. Steinborn mentioned the plans during a Senate Conservation Committee meeting Tuesday, but did not elaborate further.
Senate Bill 235, which members of the committee voted to support Tuesday, would require microgrids that create self-generated power to adhere to the same renewable portfolio standards as publicly owned utilities.
This means ultimately generating 100% of electricity from zero-carbon resources by 2045.
In September, Project Jupiter received approval from the Doña Ana County Commission for $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds, including $15 billion for microgrid energy production and storage.
Colin Cox, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said Project Jupiter’s 100% methane microgrid would emit up to 26 billion pounds of greenhouse gases annually — roughly twice the greenhouse gases emitted by Albuquerque and Las Cruces combined.
“Without this bill, Project Jupiter and future data center microgrids are exempt from our energy transition laws that require increasing amounts of renewables,” Cox said.
Cox and dozens of others showed up in person and on Zoom to voice their thoughts on the bill. Those in support categorized it as a necessary step for New Mexico’s climate goals, while those in opposition expressed concerns SB 235 would make New Mexico noncompetitive in the energy sphere.
“Our concern with the bill is that it adds a new layer of regulation on private microgrid infrastructure at a time when our state is working very hard to attract energy-intensive employers to attract high-paying jobs,” said Alison Riley with the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce.
Camilla Feibelman, director of the Sierra Club’s Rio Grande chapter, noted because microgrids are not utilities, they are not currently regulated by the Public Regulation Commission.
“So what that means is totally unbounded construction of new fossil fuels that stand to erase our progress on climate,” Feibelman said.
Under SB 235, the Public Regulation Commission would be allowed to collect fees to cover the cost of oversight, and prohibit the operation of microgrids that fail to comply with the bill’s requirements. Microgrid owners and operators would be required to report their compliance each January starting in 2029.
The latest version of the bill would further allow microgrids to meet up to 10% of the renewable portfolio standards by funding and installing solar power for low-income residents in the community where the microgrid is located. This component intends to offset carbon emissions equivalent to those that would be saved by the use of renewable energy, Steinborn said.
SB 235 would also allow microgrid owners to purchase energy from utilities, as long as it does not increase rates.
Steinborn said if the Legislature wants to pass “serious climate legislation” during the session, it must deal with microgrids. Another planned data center in Lee County could involve the use of two gigawatts of natural gas, he said.
“Unless we want to double, triple or greater our carbon emissions in the electrical sector, we have to deal with this issue this session,” Steinborn said.
The Senate Conservation Committee voted 6-3 Tuesday to advance SB 235, which now heads to the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee.