Oracle's $165B New Mexico Data Center Faces Delay as Developer Waives Air-Permit Deadline
The developer and state regulators asked to cancel the Dec. 7 hearing while the state reviews revised emissions plans, and Jefferies now expects Bloom's largest disclosed project to slip into 2027.
Oracle's ($ORCL) planned $165 billion data center in New Mexico for OpenAI faces further delay after its power developer, Yucca Growth Infrastructure, agreed to waive a Nov. 23 deadline for a decision on a key air permit. The developer and state regulators also asked to cancel the Dec. 7 hearing until the state has a new recommendation. Bloom Energy ($BE), whose fuel cells would power the site, fell as much as 22% on Thursday and Oracle fell as much as 9.8%.
What happened
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Developer | Yucca Growth Infrastructure LLC, which is building the power facility for the Santa Teresa data center, known as Project Jupiter |
| Permit | Air quality permit No. 10883, under review by the New Mexico Environment Department's Air Quality Bureau |
| Waiver | Yucca agreed to waive the Nov. 23 decision deadline, in a joint motion filed with the Air Quality Bureau on Nov. 3 |
| Hearing | The parties asked hearing officer James O. Browning to vacate the Dec. 7 hearing and related deadlines, and not to reschedule it until the Bureau's revised recommendation is in the record; he has yet to rule on the motion |
| Reason | The Bureau said it needs more time to finish its technical review of revisions Yucca submitted in October |
| What the waiver means | It does not approve the permit, and the Bureau will not seek denial or dismissal unless it makes a specific finding under the cited statutes and regulations |
| Power facility | A 2.4-gigawatt natural gas-powered plant using Bloom Energy fuel cells, with natural gas supplied by a pipeline being built by Energy Transfer ($ET) |
Background on the permit fight
- Revised plan. In mid-October, Oracle and Yucca proposed changes including an enforceable cap on fuel cell output, which they said would cut permitted emissions by roughly 35% without changing planned IT capacity.
- Opposition. Environmental groups have challenged the application. Browning rejected New Energy Economy's request to dismiss the revised application on Oct. 27.
- Earlier setbacks. The original hearing officer recused himself after bias allegations, and the New Mexico Supreme Court temporarily halted proceedings in August. Oracle has also invoked force majeure over the power work.
- Construction. Building construction on the site has advanced and does not require the same air permit. Without the air permit, the supporting power infrastructure cannot proceed.
How the stocks reacted
| Stock | Price | Change | Intraday low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloom Energy ($BE) | $169.59 | -15.35% | $156.00, about 22.1% below Wednesday's $200.35 close |
| Oracle ($ORCL) | $115.53 | -6.67% | $111.66, about 9.8% below Wednesday's $123.78 close; a 52-week low |
Prices are from Google Finance quotes at 2:09 p.m. ET for Bloom and 2:11 p.m. ET for Oracle, and change by the minute. Bloom is about 52% below its 52-week high of $351.28, and Oracle is down about 41% this year. The selloff came as technology and AI-linked shares fell broadly on worries about data center regulation after the midterm elections. See our market recap.
What analysts are saying
Jefferies now expects Bloom's largest disclosed project to shift into 2027, citing growing scheduling and demand risks. In a Sept. 29 note, Jefferies had raised its price target on Bloom to $264 from $229 with a Hold rating, saying problems at the Jupiter and Vineland projects raised timing risk tied to air, water, gas and local approvals. EnergyNow reported in August that the gas pipeline for the Oracle data center had been delayed to 2027.
What to watch
- Hearing officer ruling. Whether Browning grants the joint motion and vacates the Dec. 7 hearing.
- Revised recommendation. When the Air Quality Bureau issues its revised recommendation, including an amended draft permit, a statement of basis and a modeling report.
- Pipeline. Progress on the Energy Transfer natural gas pipeline that the fuel cells depend on.
- Bloom timing. Whether Bloom or Oracle updates the schedule for the Jupiter power deployment.
- Related coverage. See our reports on Oracle and Tencent, Bloom Energy and NTT DATA and TeraWulf's Google backstop.
Sources: Permit and hearing details are from the joint motion as reported by Organ Mountain News, with additional reporting from Bloomberg, MT Newswires, Stocktwits and EnergyNow. Share prices are from Google Finance quotes on Nov. 5, and items marked about are rounded or calculated from those quotes. This article is informational only and is not investment advice.
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