New Mexico county adopts yearlong data center moratorium

The Socorro County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a yearlong moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure projects Tuesday evening after residents for months opposed a Canadian tech CEO’s proposal to build a data center and solar array on 10,000 acres of nearby land.

In addition to prohibiting data center developments on unincorporated county land for a year, the moratorium began the process of forming an advisory committee of experts and residents to study and recommend regulations around such developments. Currently, Socorro County lacks zoning regulations as its population of farmers and ranchers have historically rejected the notion of the government telling them what to do on their land.

Last week, New Mexico Tech President Michael Jackson announced the project, which was proposed in potential partnership with the school, was halted for the time being, largely because the university does not own enough contiguous land to host it. He left the door open to future pitches from Green Data CEO Jason Bak, though.

Residents in the area, which is just more than an hour south of Albuquerque, first learned of the proposed data center development in March when Bak presented plans to work alongside university officials to build the world’s largest “renewable-led” data center at a public Socorro Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees meeting.

Bak proposed a massive solar array to power the data center and said it would rely on technology called atmospheric water generation to pull moisture out of the air and convert it into usable water, rather than draining local aquifers.

Several of Bak’s ventures in recent years — including a proposed solar-powered cryptocurrency mining operation in southern Illinois and a plan to overhaul a former Motorola corporate campus into a solar-powered data center — died before they got off the ground.

In fact, Bak and Green Data have not successfully built a data center before.

A Canadian developer’s New Mexico data center pitch may be dying. It wouldn’t be the first time

In the months since Bak first unveiled his proposal, residents have packed the room at City Council and New Mexico Tech town hall meetings to oppose the project, often contending that the solar array could harm the surrounding desert environment and that the water technology was not a proven solution. U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) also called on county leaders to pass the moratorium, arguing that the proposed development “offers limited transparency and a lack of clear answers.”

Several residents spoke at Tuesday evening’s meeting to thank commissioners for acting on their concerns.

“We really appreciate you guys. You listened to us, you acted,” resident Jon Hertz told commissioners during the meeting. “I do believe and support the development of renewable resources, but not those that gobble up our local resources for the sheer benefit of billionaires and large cities outside of New Mexico.”

A handful of residents told county leaders that they wanted to make sure a moratorium and any suggested regulations from the advisory committee do not send the wrong message to developers who show interest in building in the area. 

“We have, in Socorro, a declining population issue,” Michael Hanover said. “I believe that we should be open for business…responsible business.”

After the last resident spoke during the meeting’s public comment period, Bak approached the podium.

“It comes as no surprise to anyone that the buildout of this kind of technology infrastructure prompts concerns from local citizens. We’ve seen these concerns expressed in communities around the country,” he said. “But my company Green Data Centers has tried to allay at least some of those concerns by avoiding demands on local infrastructure.”

He said he welcomed the county board’s plan to create an advisory committee and study possible regulations on developments like his. He said he believed the data center “at full operation” would generate $50 million in annual local economic impact.

“We understand that some Socorro County residents are skeptical at our claims about the project,” Bak said. “That skepticism is being reflected by the opposition to other projects all across the country. But we’re not other projects all across the country.”

Bak did not respond to Source NM’s request for comment after the vote.