Come one, come all! The Project Jupiter Clown Show continues

We thought it was bad when the Hearing Examiner set the date for Project Jupiter's Air Permit hearing in October and then reversed himself, setting a September 14th date. We couldn't believe the naked subversion of the justice system when he demanded Project Jupiter respond to our Motion to Dismiss because they don't have a gas pipeline - and then reversed that decision just a few short days later. Now we can only laugh in disbelief after he issued an Order yesterday rejecting our Motion to Reconsider and another declaring that despite earlier rulings allowing for a discovery process, there will no longer be an opportunity to ask any questions of Project Jupiter developers or Bloom Energy fuel cell manufacturers in advance of the hearing!

Acting on those earlier rulings New Energy Economy, the Center for Biological Diversity, and New Mexico Environmental Law Center served carefully tailored interrogatories focused on the central factual questions in the case. The requested discovery sought information concerning: 

• whether Project Jupiter can legally obtain the approximately 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day required to operate after the Commissioner of Public Lands denied the Green Chili Lateral pipeline; 

• whether Applicants have any alternative fuel supply; 

• Bloom Energy’s ability to manufacture approximately 2,275 fuel cell stacks for what would be the largest deployment of its technology ever attempted; 

• the engineering studies validating the technology at this unprecedented scale; 

• the emissions testing underlying the permit application; and 

• internal risk assessments, contingency plans, construction schedules, and manufacturing capacity directly bearing on whether the project can be completed “within a reasonable time” as required by 20.2.72.208(G) NMAC. 

Instead of requiring Applicants to answer those questions, the Hearing Officer reversed himself yet again, and ordered the developers and NMED not to answer our Motion to Dismiss. (This is unprecented!) This latest decision comes at the very moment expert witnesses are preparing technical testimony due on August 24th. That timing renders meaningful participation impossible. 

Without discovery expert witnesses must prepare opinions without access to the very engineering studies, manufacturing analyses, contingency plans, emissions support, and fuel supply information that only the Applicants possess. Furthermore, the decision directly conflicts with the Hearing Officer’s own reasoning in his Sua Sponte Order denying our Motion to Dismiss, in which he stated that relevant facts “should be developed through testimony presented under oath rather than through argument of counsel in briefs.” 

Our experts will be required to enter the hearing blindfolded, allowed only to investigate the limited information provided by project developers in their application, and unable to investigate the truth of anything Project Jupiter developers claim during cross examination.

This farcical regulatory process is a spit in the face of every New Mexican as we watch our rivers dry up, our forests burn, and the future we hoped for our children wither in the unrelenting heat.

New Energy Economy will take further legal action to oppose these clowns.