CLIMATE ACTION NOW NEW MEXICO
BUILDING OUR FUTURE TOGETHER
THE DANGERS OF PRIVATE EQUITY AND DATA CENTERS IN NEW MEXICO
AUGUST 2026 REPORT
ABOUT THE REPORT
Today's world is a very different place from even the world of twenty years ago. The meteoric rise of the digital age has swept through every facet of our society and altered the fundamental ways we shop, socialize, work, and communicate. As such, our collective appetite for data has advanced at a similar breakneck speed, but nothing, not the rise of social media, nor the dot.com boom, has seen the same insatiable need for data storage as the modern AI bonanza. To answer this call for boundless digital capacity, the nation has begun building at a scale and speed not seen since the Great Depression, but rather than public works projects we are building data centers. In this report, we will endeavor to unpack some of the mysteries around this data center boom, why it's happening, who is driving it, and most importantly, what their arrival could mean for communities in New Mexico.
WATER
Data centers use large volumes of water to cool and protect their infrastructure, especially computer hardware. Large scale data centers can use as much water as towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people each year. This poses significant concern in water-scarce regions of the country, like the southwest.
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Require or incentivize data centers to operate with the best available technology for water efficiency.
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Ensure new development does not harm sensitive streams or habitat through responsible siting.
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Mandate data center setbacks from vulnerable watersheds or ecosystems.
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Require data centers to offset their water use by investing in local water conservation, infrastructure, or reuse programs.
Read the full report for more actions.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
ENERGY PRODUCTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The recent influx of data centers pose a new challenge to climate goals. Data centers must operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep the information technology they house operational. This is no small feat, and requires a significant amount of energy. Data center proposals have overwhelmingly invested in natural gas and diesel energy sources, which generates substantial pollution.
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Require data centers to comply with the state's Energy Transition Act, and prioritize projects that have on-site or new, deliverable zero-emissions energy, especially solar and battery storage.
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Explore "clean transition tariffs" that enable large-load customers to purcahse carbon-free energy or resources
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Require or incentivize data centers to use energy efficiency measures when designing or building their infrastructure
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Update the state's air permitting regulations to ensure that carbon pollution and methane is considered when approving or denying permits
See the full report for more actions.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
LAND AND WILDLIFE
As data centers build out, disturbing patterns of impacts to land and wildlife ecosystems have started to emerge nationwide. The sheer size of data centers, and the infrastructure they require, have been found to create heat islands and generate noise disruptive to people and wildlife. They also have a large footprint, using thousands of acres to multiple miles of land.
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Require community benefit agreements so that data center developers and owners invest in local wildlife habitat and land resiliency projects to protect the surrounding ecosystem.
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Require data centers to install soundproofing technology to reduce noise pollution.
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Strengthen local nuisance laws in municipalities to more properly apply to the scale and impact of data center impacts.
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Require a comprehensive impact analysis for project siting to ensure that project are not located near wildlife migration corridors, habitat, or vulnerable ecosystems.
For a full list of actions, please read the report.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
UTILITY RATES
Despite the Trump administration's campaign promises, utility costs continue to rise. Part of that rise in cost is due to the energy needs of data centers. Data center cumulative energy costs from 2026 to 2050 are estimated to range from $886 billion to $978 billion, representing 18 percent of total US wholesale electricity costs.
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Establish a large load rate class to minimize cost shifting of utility rates from data centers to other rate classes and users.
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Require data centers to fund any future system improvements required to support operation in full.
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Establish strong, comprehensive protections for low-income households, including strengthening bill-payment assistance and creating targeted peak-reduction programs that pay households for lowering energy use at critical times.
For more examples of actions, please read the full report.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
THE PATH FORWARD: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION
ACCOUNTABILITY
Even though data centers and AI are driving discussions, there is an underlying issue regarding the power of tech companies and “big tech oligarchs” that appear to be influencing the government. Because data center projects are currently being vetted at the municipal level, county officials are entering into non-disclosure agreements during data center contract negotiations. As a result, key project details and discussions are kept out of reach of the general public.
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Require independent audits of utility company load forecasts as well as the associated data center energy demand projections.
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Establish a statewide process for approving new data centers that removes sole authority from highly conflicted local authorities for company selection, site selection and incentives or subsidies.
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Prohibit the use of nondisclosure agreements for large data centers to ensure transparency.
For more examples of actions, read full report.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
THE PITFALLS OF PRIVATE EQUITY & BLACKSTONE
Private equity is focused on ensuring that investments consistently provide a solid return for investors, often in the short term. This means that they prioritize short term profits over long-term impacts of their investments.
This model has real and hard-hitting impacts on the public. For example, private equity investments in the housing industry have yielded increased rental prices and poorer living conditions for renters. Blackstone in particular has a record of increasing costs, raising rents on affordable housing units in San Diego by 43-62%. This resulted in evictions.
Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager, with 250 portfolio companies, 12,600 real estate assets, and over 4,750 credit issuers. Private equity companies like Blackstone are interested in utility investment because of the anticipated return that data centers could provide shareholders.
Blackstone's proposed acquisition of New Mexico's largest utility, Public Service Company of New Mexico, brings into question if the utility will meet or abandon renewable energy and ratepayer commitments for the sake of shareholder profit.
DATA CENTER NEWS
