The huge $165 billion data centers complex planned for the Santa Teresa, New Mexico area, near the west edge of El Paso, just got bigger.
Not in its projected size, but in its importance within the drive to power the expected explosion in artificial intelligence, or AI capabilities.
The 1,200-acre Santa Teresa site is one of five new AI data center sites that will be part of the mammoth, $500 billion Stargate AI data centers joint venture launched early this year by three global high-tech companies.
The new sites’ announcement came at a Sept. 23 event at Stargate’s flagship campus being built in Abilene, Texas. It will have eight data center buildings, one of which is already operating, the Associated Press reported.
“AI can only fulfill its promise if we build the compute to power it,” Sam Altman, CEO of San Francisco-based OpenAI, creator of one of AI’s newest tools, ChatGPT, said in a statement announcing the new Stargate sites. He led the Abilene event.
The other Stargate partners are Oracle, based in Austin, Texas, and SoftBank, based in Japan.
Stargate data center sites in New Mexico, Texas, and Ohio
Besides Santa Teresa, the other new Stargate sites are: Shackelford County, Texas, near Abilene; Milam County, Texas, near Austin; Lordstown, Ohio, a suburb of Youngstown, Ohio; and another site in the Midwest that is expected to be specifically identified soon.
Oracle appears to be the company that will lease the four data centers-site in the Santa Teresa area, according to a news release issued Sept. 26 by Denver-based Stack Infrastructure.
The complex in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, is part of Oracle’s commitment to deliver more AI data power for Stargate, according to the Stack statement.
Stack will build and operate the complex for BorderPlex Digital, the Austin company developing the site.
The site, dubbed Project Jupiter, got its needed fuel Sept. 19 when the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners approved big tax breaks for the project after a marathon public meeting featuring hours of debate between project opponents and proponents.
Santa Teresa project among 300 reviewed by Stargate
“The five new sites were chosen through a rigorous nationwide process launched in January,” according to Stargate’s Sept. 23 announcement.
“OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank reviewed over 300 proposals from more than 30 states. Today’s announcement marks the first set of selections, with additional U.S. sites to come as we complete and surpass our initial commitment to invest $500 billion in U.S. AI infrastructure.”
The Stargate venture was first announced in January at a White House event with President Donald Trump.
More: Final route picked for Border Connector Highway from Santa Teresa to Sunland Park, NM
The Santa Teresa project was publicly announced in February by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Lanham Napier, chairman of BorderPlex Digital, in Santa Fe when BorderPlex and New Mexico officials signed a memorandum of understanding to help move the project forward.
BorderPlex Digital was not listed as a partner in the Santa Teresa project in Stack’s Sept. 26 news release. However, Napier was quoted in the news release, saying the site will be “a model for how innovative infrastructure can meet the demands of next-generation technology.”
Hiring begins for Santa Teresa project
The site, which is projected to cost about $165 billion over 30 years, with most of that money for the initial, high-tech computing equipment in the data centers and periodic equipment upgrades.
The complex’s developers expect it to be operational by 2028.
The developers have committed to creating at least 800 jobs within three years with average annual wages of $75,000 to $100,000.
Twelve jobs, mostly management positions based in Las Cruces, New Mexico, are listed on the Stack website, which can be accessed through the Project Jupiter website, projectjupitertogether.com
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter, now known as X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Open AI, Oracle put planned Santa Teresa data centers campus in mammoth Stargate venture
Reporting by Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
