Doña Ana County

Oracle / Stargate · Santa Teresa, New Mexico

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The resource footprint

Modelled average

In one day, this campus would consume about

11.950-metre swimming pools

Filled with the volume of water consumed by the campus and its electricity supply.

The actual estimate7,876,723 US gallons consumed

50-metre pools · 2 metres deep

Each diagram = 1 pool. Partial shading shows the remainder.

At the campus375,082 galMaking its electricity7,501,641 gal

Power-plant water may come from a different watershed. This is a volume comparison, not a claim that households lose this water.

If announced plans are fully built · Not operating yet · Annual model spread evenly over time, not a live meter. Site estimates may differ by roughly ±40%.

Comparison sizes & sources

One pool = 50 × 25 × 2 metres = 2.5 million litres (about 660,430 US gallons). Pool depths vary; this is a defined comparison size.

One home-year = 10,791 kWh, the EIA’s 2022 average US residential electricity purchases. This excludes electricity generated at home and is a fixed US benchmark for all sites.

One car-year = 4.6 tonnes CO₂, the EPA’s typical passenger vehicle tailpipe estimate. The campus model is in CO₂e; the comparison expresses approximate climate scale, not equal mixtures of pollutants.

Monthly values are annual totals ÷ 12; daily values are annual totals ÷ 365. Actual demand varies. Comparisons cover the whole campus, including non-AI uses.

Water: see the numbers and sources

This is water used up, mainly through evaporation. Power-generation water may be used in a different watershed.

Total water use2,875M gal/yr

Evaporated on site137M gal

Making the power2,738M gal

Household comparison35,938homes, at 80,000 gal/year

Pressure on local water: Extremely High — a regional measure of demand compared with available water
Where the water comes from: Closed loop — negligible draw
Cooling: Air-cooled closed loop, chosen for the desert siting
Basis: Modelled from cooling design — WUE 0.06 L/kWh
Claimed vs observed: Claimed 0.17 million gallons a year; observed or registered 103 million.

Air: see the numbers and sources

The totals include nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles. They cover both this site and the power plants supplying it.

Nitrogen oxides1,296t/yr

Sulphur dioxide950t/yr

Fine particulates147t PM2.5

Health (EPA)$131M/yr

Health range: $45.6–131 million a year. Lower bound is EASIUR national mid-range; upper is EPA benefit-per-ton at a ~$12M VSL.
Statistical deaths: 10.9 a year at that VSL — a national-average conversion from tons, not a local concentration study.
Equals: 1,619,505 cars of NOx
Where it burns: WECC Southwest — Ariz. / N.M.
Generation mix: Gas 46 · Nuclear 22 · Solar 14 · Coal 12
Diesel backup: On-site power is 2,275 Bloom fuel cells, not diesel. Draft NSR 10883 (29 July 2026) would cap 37.2 t/yr NOx, 0.1 t/yr SO2 and 75.4 t/yr PM2.5.
Air permit: 37.2 t/yr NOx enforced cap · 0.10 t/yr SO₂ · 75.4 t/yr PM2.5 — 62.8 tons under the 100-ton Title V major-source line
CO₂e: 3,213 kt/yr — climate, not air quality

The project, approvals and community concerns

Who asked for it: OpenAI — via Oracle; Project Jupiter developed with Borderplex
Who approved it: Doña Ana County approved up to $165 billion of taxable industrial revenue bonds (a conduit for property-tax abatements; developer stated $360 million PILOT); El Paso Electric supply; New Mexico groundwater permitting under the State Engineer
Tax deal: Doña Ana County approved up to $165 billion of taxable industrial revenue bonds as a conduit for property-tax abatements and equipment gross-receipts-tax deductions. The developer stated $360 million in payments in lieu of taxes.
What it serves: OpenAI compute under Stargate
IT capacity: 0 MW current capacity / 1,000 MW full-build scenario

Sited in the Mesilla basin, where groundwater is adjudicated and contested across the Texas–New Mexico line. The design is air-cooled specifically because water rights here are effectively unavailable.

water-stressed basinorganised local oppositionin litigation

Keep this guide handy

32.0300°, -106.6500°

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Quote or share these estimates

Gigawatt Ledger (2026). Doña Ana County: water and air. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/site/donaana/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.

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Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. Water and air figures are estimated from public records and disclosed capacity. How we calculate them · Use this in your community.