The main company behind Project Jupiter is considering delivering natural gas by truck as they wait for a pipeline to be approved — the same technique Oracle has used for over a year to fuel a data center in Salt Lake City — according to a Bloomberg report Thursday.
The controversial data center in Santa Teresa is intended to be powered by fuel cells from Bloom Energy Corp., but it continues to lack the natural gas supply for these fuel cells. The pipeline has been rejected twice by State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, prompting a reroute from Energy Transfer LP.
Originally, the pipeline was supposed to be online this summer, but its new projected service date is next year.
In the wake of Bloomberg’s report, Bloom Energy’s shares dropped 7.5% on Thursday. Some viewed it as a “Hail Mary by investors,” Mariel Nanasi, executive director of Santa Fe-based New Energy Economy, said Thursday.
“It seems to me that it would be actually horrendous for people in Sunland Park and Santa Teresa,” Nanasi said. “Not only truck traffic … but the emissions to bring in 400 million cubic feet of gas per day. … That sounds crazy.”
New information on disgraced county manager’s departure
The Doña Ana County Commission unanimously voted to terminate County Manager Scott Andrews — who had signed nondisclosure agreements with developers behind the massive and controversial Project Jupiter data center — without cause on July 21.
When The New Mexican tried to find out more about his departure, the county closed a request for records after 30 days without producing any documents. This came despite multiple references by the interim county attorney and commissioners to a separation agreement.
After The New Mexican published a story on the matter Wednesday, the county reopened the request the same day, providing a signed separation agreement.
While Andrews came under fire, some people suggested to The New Mexican he wasn’t let go due to his handling of the data center — as many assumed — but because he was in search of another job and wanted to negotiate a better settlement for his departure. He was included on a list of candidates for city manager in Lake Worth Beach, Fla., on June 2.
Andrews in an Aug. 3 LinkedIn post insinuated his departure was due to how he and his family had been treated in the community: He had been egged, followed home and asked to leave a coffee shop, according to his post.
In the agreement, among other items:
- Andrews was granted a severance payment equivalent to six months’ salary.
- The county and Andrews pledged not to make any disparaging comments about each other.
- The county said it would provide a “neutral professional reference” for Andrews.
- Andrews released the county from any claims or liabilities due to the separation.
Julia Gentin is a reporter for The Las Cruces New Mexican, The Santa Fe New Mexican and Searchlight New Mexico through a partnership with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. She covers the Southern New Mexico region. Learn more about Report for America at reportforamerica.org.
