Oracle doubles Project Jupiter job projections, saying operations will ‘require a much larger team’

Oracle, the tenant of the massive data center complex under construction in Santa Teresa, recently doubled the estimated number of jobs for Project Jupiter.

Construction on the campus, which will include four data centers and two microgrid power generation units, began in September after Doña Ana County commissioners approved a historic $165 billion industrial revenue bond and other public incentives to land the project. 

Oracle has committed to occupying the facilities to produce computing capacity for OpenAI as part of the two companies’ $500 billion Stargate Project to build a network of data centers for training and support of AI technology.

The 4-1 vote by commissioners was controversial among members of the community, with two separate lawsuits filed by county residents challenging the public financing. Opposition in the community arose over concerns about the project’s need for water in a parched community, as well as the power needed to keep the facilities operational 24 hours a day. Those concerns intensified when air quality permit applications projected 2.8 gigawatts of electricity produced via natural gas turbines, far larger than had been disclosed when commissioners voted. 

The developers have since announced plans to develop a portfolio-based approach to bring renewable energy to the facility and launched a study into whether geothermal energy could contribute to its power needs.

BorderPlex Digital Assets and Stack Infrastructure, the builders, had predicted the site would employ 2,000 construction workers during the building phase, expected to extend through 2028, followed by up to 750 permanent positions once operational. In a Jan. 23 news release, Oracle Senior Vice President Josh Pitcock upped both figures to around 4,000 construction jobs and up to 1,500 positions when operations commence.

Oracle operates 147 data centers worldwide and has 64 in development, Pitcock said.

A spokesperson for Oracle told the Journal the job estimates are based on the scale of resources required for AI data centers. Operations in Santa Teresa “will require a much larger team that operates the electrical, mechanical, server and network housed in these data centers,” the spokesperson said. “We will also be hiring IT technicians, electrical engineers, supply chain, physical security professionals and other specialists.”

While construction appears to be proceeding around the clock, Oracle would only state, “We have made great progress and expect to continue at a rapid pace.”

Oracle is projecting a $384 million annual economic boost to the county during construction, with $113 million in direct economic output once operational. Under the industrial revenue bond agreements, the county is to receive $360 million in direct payments in lieu of taxes over 30 years for local schools, infrastructure and services — about $12 million annually.

Oracle has committed an additional $6.9 million to various local projects and $50 million to local water and wastewater systems, while underscoring statements from Stack Infrastructure that the facilities would be served with a closed-loop cooling system rather than evaporative cooling, in light of objections from the community to a water-intensive development. The objections follow years of water quality and supply issues in the county, intensified by climate change, drought and dwindling water levels in recent years.

“These are transformative investments that will substantially improve how people live and work across the county,” Pitcock wrote.

County Commission Chairman Manuel Sanchez, who voted to approve the industrial revenue bond and supported the project as an economic development win for the community, welcomed the enhanced job estimates on Wednesday.

“Part of the IRB includes preference of positions to be filled by Doña Ana County residents,” he told the Journal. “We are now working with Doña Ana Community College to begin a jobs training program for Project Jupiter jobs.”

Soon, Sanchez said commissioners are expected to consider action on a program to provide services for people entering the data center jobs training program, a measure to help the local workforce compete for positions when the center is operational.

“We’re committed to hiring locally, working alongside trade schools, community colleges, universities, and workforce development organizations to train residents for a career in technology,” Pitcock wrote, “and we look forward to forging new partnerships with local businesses across New Mexico to provide needed services for the campus.”

As part of that commitment, Oracle said it was offering instruction in computer science, computer information systems and project management through its technical education program, Oracle Academy, at New Mexico State University and DACC. The university did not respond to questions about how Oracle’s program was being implemented on campus.

The promise of technological education and careers were essential to winning support from elected commissioners and some legislators from the county.

In an op-ed penned in support of Project Jupiter last fall by Democratic state Reps. Nathan Small, Joanne Ferrary and Sarah Silva, all of Las Cruces, the lawmakers wrote, “We can do big things in Doña Ana County — attracting investments that grow our economy, benefit our communities, and create opportunities for young people. We also want to see these companies make good on their commitments to invest in critical resources and services for our community, including career technical education, youth programs and our natural environment.”

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.