How many data centers, each with emissions exceeding a coal-fired power plant, will Blackstone build in New Mexico?

A friend just shared with us this letter authored on December 4th by Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal questioning Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman about his intentions in buying PNM. The letter states that "private equity firms appear to be taking advantage of utilities’ regulated-monopoly status to rake in excess profits," and points out that the company itself has publicly announced that it is investing at scale to position itself as “the world’s largest provider of data centers,” an industry that has led to increased electricity rates across the US.

This letter comes on the heels of the bombshell news about the air permits that the Borderplex Project Jupiter data center is seeking at the New Mexico Environment Department. They have divided their fossil fueled micro-grids into two parts to avoid stringent air pollutant monitoring. An NMED spokesperson told the Santa Fe New Mexican that the operators "will be required to apply for a Title V permit for major sources" within a year of operation, but failed to note that because the project was divided, BorderPlex would avoid the need for a much more stringent New Source Review permit. And further failed to tell the reporter that even though the nearby community is a non-attainment zone for ozone pollution, there will be no ozone pollution modeling because dividing the project into two put each microgrid below the Significant Impact Level for ozone. 

Combined, the projected emissions of these two microgrids exceed 14 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. That's more than the Four Corners coal plant. More than Albuquerque and Las Cruces combined. More than enough to render New Mexico's Renewable Portfolio Standards moot, and severely impact the air, water and health of the people of Doña Ana County and beyond.

How did this project get the green light so fast and avoid complying with renewable energy standards? Last year House Bill 93 was amended at the last minute by Senator Michael Padilla to ensure that data centers powered by micro-grids do not have to comply with the Renewable Portfolio Standard. Our Democrat controlled legislature and Governor approved it, and now our Environment Department is providing cover when they should be protecting the people!

Project Jupiter is just the first among many hyperscale projects that will be proposed across New Mexico. Blackstone, seeking to become the "worlds largest provider of data centers" is not looking to buy PNM for the benefit of your basic utility profit margins. It is banking big on building out the grid for interstate transmission and new customer demand from its data center development companies. 

County Commissions, like those in Doña Ana, might be lured by promises of economic development into offering massive tax breaks, but the truth is that data center developers target places based on land availability and cost, access to grid or energy sources, and access to high speed internet cables. What does New Mexico have? Lots of land and lots of energy, and that is why Trump's bestie, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, wants to buy PNM.

Tax breaks do not enter the equation, but one other criteria does: permitting conflicts and local opposition. That's where you come in. The New Mexico Foundation for Civic Excellence has started a petition opposing the Blackstone acquisition. This is where the organizing starts. We encourage you to sign and to share it widely!

You might also want to reach out to New Mexico's Senators and Representatives and ask them why their names are not on that Congressional letter, which points out exactly what the risks are: 

"Private equity’s money-extracting playbook isn’t anything new, and the consequences that usually follow aren’t either. For example, in 2014, Upper Peninsula Power Co. (UPPCO)–an electrical utility company that serves over 52,000 customers in Michigan–was acquired by the then Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners (BBIP), a British investment fund that's now Basalt Infrastructure Partners. After a series of rate hikes, UPPCO’s customers were stuck paying nine cents more per kilowatt/hour for their electricity than the average rate of other investor-owned utilities in Michigan. Texas’s TXU/Energy Future Holdings also serves as a cautionary tale. TXU, a company that provided electricity to 1.7 million customers, filed for bankruptcy only seven years after being sold to private equity firms. At the time TXU filed for bankruptcy, they were saddled with over $40 billion in debt."

If Blackstone, Borderplex and the AI oligarchs have their way, New Mexico will be drained of water, drained of energy, and drained of the natural beauty that feeds our spirit. The fight against this private equity giant and their political power will take all of us. We need to build our coalition. Retain the top experts. Expand beyond our individual capacities to reach the exponential capacity of people power. That is how we win.

TOGETHER, WE ARE THE LOCAL OPPOSITION THAT CAN AND DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!