New Mexico Data Center Intel

Recent New Mexico data center news

• Apr 24, 2026

  The POWER Interview: How the Oil and Gas Industry is Advancing Geothermal

  XGS Energy has announced a 115-MW development deal with California Community Power and is developing a 150-MW, $1.2-billion partnership with Meta in New Mexico.

  • Main announcement: XGS signed a 115 MW development agreement with California Community Power granting those members first rights to the electricity produced, and a 150-MW partnership with Meta described as a $1.2-billion capital project in New Mexico; the Meta project is two-phased and both phases are expected to be operational by 2030, and will supply Meta’s data center operations via the PNM utility grid.
  • Background and validation: XGS completed a commercial demonstration of its water-independent closed-loop system at the Coso geothermal field running continuously for more than 3,000 hours using its Thermal Reach Enhancement (TRE) and oil-and-gas-derived drilling and casing technologies; the article also cites an IEA finding that geothermal financing reached nearly $2.2 billion last year (up from $22 million in 2018) and references federal incentives (clean energy tax credits retained in the 2025 U.S. budget and DOE’s Enhanced Geothermal Shot).
• Apr 23, 2026

  Kairos breaks ground on Hermes 2

  The US-based Kairos Power has broken ground on the Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

  • Groundbreaking announced and project scope: Kairos Power announced the Hermes 2 groundbreaking; Hermes 2 is a two-unit demonstration plant (35MWt each) that will supply up to 50MW-electrical to the TVA grid under Kairos Power’s deal with Google. The NRC issued a construction permit for Hermes 2 in November 2024, and Hermes 1 (non-power 35MWt test reactor) had first concrete poured in May 2025. This announcement is a new, on-site groundbreaking event and confirms ongoing construction activity at the Oak Ridge demonstration campus.

  • Construction, fabrication and timeline details:Barnard Construction Company is the general contractor; reactor equipment modules will be fabricated at Kairos Power’s Manufacturing Development Campus in Albuquerque and shipped to Oak Ridge. Hermes 2 will use modular construction (precast concrete) and a seismically isolated foundation, will be built on the former K-33 site (land acquired in 2021), and is the immediate precursor to planned 188MWt commercial plants starting in 2030. ETU testing milestones: ETU 1.0 molten salt testing in Albuquerque; ETU 2.0 installed in 2025; ETU 3.0 installed in Oak Ridge in July 2025.

• Apr 22, 2026

  Governor establishes Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council – 13-member council designed to protect ratepayers, modernize the grid 

  Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed an executive order establishing the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council.

  • Council established by executive order: 13-member council appointed to protect ratepayers and modernize the grid, administratively attached to the Department of Finance and Administration; members will serve without compensation other than per diem and mileage and must deliver a final report with legislative, regulatory, and administrative recommendations by November 1, 2026.
  • Scope and membership: The Council will evaluate Ratepayer protection (including impacts from data centers and onshore manufacturing), Grid modernization and reliability, Clean energy progress to advance New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act net-zero goals, and Permitting efficiency; membership includes state agency leaders, utility executives, rural cooperative and tribal energy experts (e.g., Don Tarry, Kelly A. Tomblin, Zoe Lees, Sandra Begay Keeto, Rep. Meredith Dixon).
• Apr 22, 2026

  Small, connected data centers will power AI, a builder says

  Gray Wolf Data Centers, launched by Pete Sacco (founder and CEO of PTS Data Center Solutions), is building a proof-of-concept cluster of small data centers in Connecticut to support low-latency AI inferencing.

  • Main announcement: Gray Wolf is developing a distributed model of clustered small data centers (targeting 5-20 MW per site) as an alternative to hyperscale facilities; the first proof-of-concept is in Connecticut, and Sacco proposes building many 10-MW sites (example: 120 x 10-MW instead of a 1,200-MW plant) that operate as a distributed system/DAO.
  • Background and details: Sacco cited interconnection waits up to five years and community pushback as drivers; planned local power options include grid interconnection, microgrids (solar + batteries), waste-to-energy, a potential proliferation of hydrogen, and eventual use of small nuclear (~8 years) and fusion in the longer term; he claims generation at sub 10 cents/kWh with options to sell power at ~20 cents/kWh, contrasting with local retail rates like ~30 cents/kWh in Connecticut.
• Apr 17, 2026

  AI Infrastructure Brief: Power, Capital, and the Feeling That Something Is Tightening

  Matt Vincent (Data Center Frontier) summarized the week’s announcements showing an accelerating AI data-center buildout paired with mounting power and coordination constraints.

  • Main observation: The industry is prioritizing power and speed: major deals and project announcements include Bloom Energy and Oracle planning up to 2.8 GW of deployment, Aligned Data Centers breaking ground on a 540 MW Project Caprock, an EdgeConneX affiliate proposing a 430 MW natural gas plant in New Albany, Ohio, proposals for 2 GW in New Mexico and 1.2 GW in Irwin County, Georgia, and Microsoft expanding datacenter operations in Cheyenne. The Maine legislature passed a temporary, exemption-inclusive ban on data centers, signaling emerging social-license constraints.
  • Capital and implementation details: Financial moves include Switch raising $768 million via ABS, Fluidstack reported in talks for a $1 billion round at an $18 billion valuation, and Jane Street signing a $6 billion AI cloud agreement with CoreWeave; CoreWeave also expanded a multi-year relationship with Anthropic. Utilities are signing long-term power agreements (e.g., NiSource with Alphabet and expanded ties with Amazon). AWS has launched “Project Houdini” to accelerate construction timelines. All items are factual recaps of announcements and reports from the week (no speculative outcomes included).
• Apr 16, 2026

  Blue Owl Builds a Capital Platform for the Hyperscale AI Era

  Blue Owl announced the final close of Digital Infrastructure Fund III at $7 billion and is repositioning itself as a capital platform for hyperscale and AI infrastructure.

  • Main announcement: Blue Owl completed a $7 billion final close of Digital Infrastructure Fund III (hard cap), nearly doubling its original $4 billion target; the fund will develop, acquire, and own data centers and connectivity assets, focusing on large-scale build-to-suit projects for hyperscalers. The firm integrated IPI Partners (closed Jan 6, 2025, bringing >$11 billion AUM) and installed Matt A’Hearn as head of digital infrastructure to support the expansion.
  • Background and details: Blue Owl has entered multiple structures including a Meta joint venture (Hyperion) where Blue Owl-managed funds hold 80% and Meta 20%, with ~$27 billion estimated development costs (Blue Owl contributed roughly $7 billion cash; Meta received a one-time distribution of ~$3 billion); the firm also announced a QIA partnership (launched with >$3 billion initial assets) and backed projects like the Abilene campus (1.2 GW initial, potential ~2.1 GW with Microsoft additions; second phase construction began March 2025 with initial energization expected mid-2026).
• Apr 15, 2026

  New Mexico To Close Digital Divide With $382 Million From BEAD

  The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) announced plans to secure enforceable BEAD grant agreements to serve every location in New Mexico by the end of 2026.

  • Main announcement: OBAE Director Jeff Lopez said the state plans to have enforceable commitments (signed grant agreements) by end of 2026 to serve 100 percent of locations in New Mexico, backed by a $382 million BEAD allocation; Lopez also cautioned that map changes, rights-of-way challenges, and potential defaults could result in serving 99.9 percent instead of full 100 percent.
  • Background and implementation details: OBAE will seek flexibility from NTIA to use BEAD non-deployment funds for middle-mile and long-haul fiber buildouts, 5G support, and workforce development; the workforce program is already supported by a $1.9 million U.S. Department of Labor grant and contracts with BICSI and the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions to train communities and plan for fiber networks and data centers.
    • Event: Fiber for Breakfast webinar
      • Date: April 15, 2026
      • Time: not specified
      • Location: virtual (Fiber for Breakfast webinar)
      • Agenda/subject: broadband deployment and challenges in New Mexico
• Apr 14, 2026

  New Mexico environmental groups seek federal regulators to deny pipeline for Project Jupiter

  Several New Mexico environmental groups have filed a formal challenge with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) seeking denial or a more exhaustive review of a proposed 17-mile gas pipeline (the “Green Chile Project”) intended to fuel Project Jupiter.

  • Filed challenge to FERC: Environmental groups (Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Food & Water Watch) and attorneys from the Western Environmental Law Center formally intervened on the final day to submit comments, arguing FERC fast-tracking would be “premature and inappropriate”; the pipeline application was submitted by Dallas-based Energy Transfer on Jan. 29, 2026 and seeks expedited approval with plans to break ground in April and complete by August.
  • Project and regulatory background: The proposal is a 17-mile, $60-million Green Chile Project planned to deliver 400,000 dekatherms/day to private power plants serving Project Jupiter; state regulators recently denied permits for 0.63 miles of state trust lands in Doña Ana County, and New Mexico environment officials have pushed air permit decisions to July and scheduled a public hearing after receiving more than 7,000 comments.
• Apr 14, 2026

  Data centers are moving inland, away from some traditional locations

  Synergy Research Group and Sightline Climate reported a geographic shift and widescale delays in U.S. data center construction.

  • Main announcement:Synergy Research Group finds the planning and build “center of gravity” for data centers is moving inland to Texas and Midwestern states (Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri). Sightline Climate reports 16 GW of data centers slated to open in the U.S. this year but only 5 GW are under construction now and expects 30–50% of projects to be delayed; 25 GW are announced for 2027 with only 6 GW under construction.
  • Background and details: Delays are driven by component shortages (memory, storage, batteries, electrical transformers, circuit breakers) and local opposition (e.g., the Seminole Nation banning data centers on tribal lands). Major cloud and AI firms named as project sponsors include Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and CoreWeave. The article also references Pennsylvania’s $70 billion push for data centers and notes many 2028–2032 projects have not broken ground.
• Apr 9, 2026

  Turning Buildings into Energy Assets

  DaisyChain Energy, led by Co-founder and CEO Alex Blumberg, is deploying submetering and smart rate arbitrage to help commercial buildings reduce peak loads and act as grid-stabilizing assets.

  • Main announcement/action: DaisyChain combines submetering and smart rate arbitrage to track energy use at the circuit level and shift consumption to off-peak rates, producing immediate savings for commercial buildings while preparing sites for batteries, heat pumps, and other distributed energy resources. MCJ is an investor in DaisyChain; the company’s approach targets grid congestion and the problem of the grid being built for rare peak events.
  • Background and additional details: The article cites NERC warnings about growing power shortage risks and references global spending on grid upgrades (source: BCC Research). It notes rising demand from electrification and AI data centers and promotes related content: the DaisyChain conversation on the Inevitable podcast (linked to Spotify) and a related episode about Paces accelerating data center and renewable siting. Event details (as provided):
    • San Francisco Climate Week event: Date: not specified in article; Time: not specified; Location: San Francisco; Agenda/subject: New Mexico’s transformation as a hub for entrepreneurs and investments, featuring Rob Black (New Mexico Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development), Bruce Brown (Head of Strategic Climate Initiatives, New Mexico State Investment Council), Carrie Von Muench (Founding COO, Pacific Fusion), and Carl Hoiland (Co-Founder, Zanskar Geothermal).