State AGs Push FERC to Fast-Track Oracle Data Center Pipeline
Key Summary
Twelve US state attorneys general have urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve a natural gas pipeline to power an Oracle data center in New Mexico, despite concerns from the state's attorney general and environmental groups about the project's environmental impact. The pipeline would supply 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to power Bloom Energy fuel cells at Oracle's Project Jupiter, a data center campus that could reach a capacity of 2.5 GW.
Background
The project is called the Green Chile pipeline. It would run 17.8 miles through Doña Ana County, New Mexico. A subsidiary of Energy Transfer LP operates the line. Once running, it is designed to move up to 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. That gas has a single, very hungry customer in mind. It would power Bloom Energy fuel cells at Oracle's Project Jupiter, a data center campus built to serve the growing demands of AI companies, particularly OpenAI.
The Coalition
Twelve US state attorneys general have asked federal regulators to approve the pipeline. Their letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) supports fast-tracking the project. Supporters point to the local payoff. The project is expected to create approximately 5,800 construction jobs and generate up to $1.1 billion in annual local economic output.
The Disagreement
New Mexico's own attorney general, Raúl Torrez, is on the other side, pushing for a more thorough environmental review of the very project the coalition wants moved along. Environmental groups and Attorney General Torrez want FERC to widen its lens. They are calling for a comprehensive review that weighs the full impact of the data center itself, not just the 17.8 miles of pipe. Their concerns center on local resources, including water use and emissions. In a desert region, a facility of this magnitude raises obvious questions about what it will draw from the surrounding environment.
The Key Takeaways
When attorneys general from a dozen other states weigh in on a project located entirely within one state whose own top lawyer is skeptical, it shows how data centers have become a national policy question rather than a local zoning matter. Energy Transfer sits on one side of that equation as the pipeline operator. Bloom Energy sits on another as the fuel cell supplier, and both have a direct interest in how quickly FERC moves. The key thing to watch now is FERC's next move. If the commission sides with the coalition and keeps the review narrow, the February 1, 2027, target could hold. If it agrees with Torrez and the environmental groups that the data center's full footprint deserves scrutiny, that date may prove as movable as the last one.