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The Watch · The Sequence

The Timeline

Every dated event in the record, with its sources. Two senators described this project the same way — as something moving faster than the public could follow. That is not an argument you can make in a paragraph; it is a shape. Here is the shape.

“There's been a strategy here… to race and get ahead so fast that we wouldn't know what was happening until it was too late.”— Sen. Joseph Cervantes, Aug 11, 2026

The Friction Ledger

Six places where a question, a deadline, or a review was removed from this project's path — each dated, each sourced, each marked by whether it can still be restored.

Under New Mexico law, a project that holds a valid approval and substantially changes position in reliance on it acquires a vested right — later rules cannot reach it (Brazos Land, 1993). On July 27, 2026, the applicant's counsel told the hearing officer the client “would stand to lose $325 million per month, beginning in November.” Whether the underlying approvals were valid is exactly what the Open Meetings Act suit (D-307-CV-2025-02766) will decide.

81 events shown · every entry carries its sourceThe empty space between entries is drawn to scale — the distance is the time. Spans past eighteen months are marked with a break.

How to read a badge

PSPrimary source — read off the document itselfCConfirmed — two independent accounts agreeCVCaveated — true with a stated limit on itTVTo verify — published so it can be checked
A tie marks entries that sit close together in time. That is all it marks.10 moElapsed time runs down the left margin, and the blank space is drawn to scale.
  1. Dec 23, 2013WATERPS● ledger

    The land/water split is created — twelve years early

    Instrument #1330941: on one day, Paseo Del Norte and Santa Teresa Land acquire the land while the Verde entities reserve easements over the wells in OSE file LRG-3150 — the land sold, the water kept. Section 3.1 already grants the landowner the right to relocate wells “to accommodate development or redevelopment.”

    Why this mattersThe land/water structure the 2025 closing rebuilt was written twelve years earlier. The 2025 deeds did not invent it; they inherited it.

    In the recordChristopher O. LyonsPaseo Del Norte LLCSanta Teresa Land LLCThe Verde entities (VROP · VST · VBI)
    Doña Ana County Clerk — recorded instruments ↗#
  2. 6 years, 3 monthsnot to scale
    Mar 11, 2020DEALPS

    NMPRC approves IIF's purchase of El Paso Electric

    The utility that now serves the region passes to a JPMorgan-tied fund, with an $8.7M ratepayer credit and an arm's-length condition.

    Why this mattersThe utility that would have to serve a 2,462-megawatt load stopped answering to public shareholders here.

    In the recordEl Paso Electric (EPE)
    Utility Dive — FERC dismisses JPMorgan concerns ↗#
  3. 5 months
    Jul 29, 2020DEALPS

    The $4.3B EPE buyout closes; the utility leaves the NYSE

    After 73 years on the public market, El Paso Electric goes private under the Infrastructure Investments Fund.

    Why this mattersOwnership of the region's power moved behind a fund five years before the region was asked to power a data campus.

    In the recordEl Paso Electric (EPE)
    El Paso Electric — sale completed, new CEO ↗#
  4. ≈ 3 years, 5 monthsnot to scale
    Dec 2023WATERC

    CRRUA found bypassing three of four arsenic plants

    The utility that will supply the campus's drinking water was running most of its arsenic treatment offline — 58 deficiencies.

    Why this mattersThe utility named to supply the campus's drinking water had already failed at the simpler job.

    In the recordCamino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA)
    CRRUA — NMED settlement ↗#
  5. ≈ 9 weeks
  6. 10 months
    Jan 6, 2025DEALPS● ledger

    The land goes under option — eight months before the vote

    A memorandum recorded three weeks later shows BorderPlex held an option on 400 acres of the Santa Teresa assembly from January 6 — before the February MOU, and long before the September bond vote.

    Why this mattersThe land was locked up eight months before the public vote that ratified it.

    In the recordBorderPlex Digital Assets
    Doña Ana County Clerk — recorded instruments ↗#
  7. 5 weeks
    Feb 10, 2025LAWPS

    The HGEIC committee substitute for HB 93 is dated

    The grid-technology bill takes the form it will keep — before the microgrid section is added.

    Why this mattersThis is what HB 93 said BEFORE the microgrid exemption was added — the baseline every later diff is measured against.

    In the recordNM State Legislature
    NM Legislature — HB 93 Fiscal Impact Report ↗#
  8. The amendment · 50 days50 daysA bill dies and its substance becomes law inside seven weeks.
    Feb 17, 2025LAWPS

    SB 418, Padilla's Qualified Microgrid bill, is introduced

    The standalone version of the microgrid carve-out — sole sponsor Sen. Michael Padilla.

    Why this mattersThe exemption first existed as its own bill with its own sponsor, which is what makes its later route significant.

    In the recordMichael PadillaNM State Legislature
    BillTrack50 — NM SB418 ↗#
  9. Feb 22, 2025LAWPS

    SB 418 dies — reported Do Pass, then postponed the same day

    The bill never gets a floor vote. Its substance does not disappear.

    Why this mattersA bill that cannot survive its own committee is the clearest evidence its substance was not going to pass on the merits.

    In the recordMichael PadillaNM State Legislature
    BillTrack50 — NM SB418 history ↗#
  12. 2 weeks
    3 entries · 2 days apartThree steps — amendment, concurrence, adjournment — inside forty-eight hours.
    The 48 hours2 daysFinal passage happened two days before the Legislature went home.
    Mar 20, 2025LAWPS● ledger

    The amendment: Section 6 is added to HB 93; the Senate passes it 37–4

    Senate Floor Amendment 1 — “amendment sponsored by Senator Padilla” — inserts the self-sourced-power exemption. A floor substitute carrying it is adopted.

    Why this mattersThis is the moment the public-interest test was deleted. Everything downstream runs through it.

    In the recordMichael PadillaRep. Kristina OrtezRep. Mela Lara CadenaRep. Patricia Roybal CaballeroRep. Raymundo 'Ray' Lara
    NM Legislature — Senate Floor Amendment 1 to HB 93 ↗#
  13. Mar 21, 2025LAWPS

    The House concurs — one day later

    The Fiscal Impact Report is updated with a synopsis of the amendment noting it “relates to Senate Bill 418.”

    Why this mattersThe chamber that had passed a different bill got one day to notice what had been added to it.

    In the recordNM State Legislature
    NM Legislature — HB 93 Fiscal Impact Report ↗#
  15. 2 weeks
  17. 12 weeks
  18. 6 weeks
    Aug 15, 2025DEALC

    Yucca Growth Infrastructure incorporates in Delaware

    The entity that will file the air permit — and, it later emerges, fund the campaign urging its approval — is formed eleven days before the county's inducement resolution.

    Why this mattersThe permit applicant and the sole funder of the campaign urging its approval are the same entity, formed here.

    In the recordYucca Growth Infrastructure, LLC (YGI)
    Doña Ana County Clerk — recorded instruments ↗#
  19. Aug 26, 2025COUNTYPS

    The county adopts the IRB inducement resolution

    Doña Ana County sets the industrial-revenue-bond structure in motion.

    Why this mattersThe county started the bond clock twenty-four days before it voted on the bond.

    In the recordDoña Ana County Commission
    Doña Ana County — IRB Inducement Resolution ↗#
  20. 3 weeks
  22. 4 weeks
    Oct 14, 2025COUNTYPS

    Ordinance 369-2025 adds LEDA permit-fee assistance

    A third ordinance extends the incentive package.

    Why this mattersThe incentive package kept growing after the vote the public was told was the decision.

    In the recordDoña Ana County Commission
    Doña Ana County — IRB Inducement Resolution ↗#
  23. Oct 17, 2025COURTPS

    The first Open Meetings Act suit is filed

    NMELC, for the Empowerment Congress and two residents, sues to void Ordinances 367 and 368 — Case D-307-CV-2025-02766.

    Why this mattersThe attack on the vote's validity begins within a month of the emergency well filing.

    In the recordDoña Ana County CommissionNM Environmental Law Center (NMELC)
    NMELC — OMA complaint (Feb 6 2026) ↗#
  24. Oct 21, 2025WATERPS● ledger

    The emergency well is filed

    Santa Teresa Capital requests emergency authorization under § 72-12-22. The letter, signed by agent Gilbert G. Mesa and copied to managing partner Lane Gaddy, states THREE wells had failed — and lists the industrial project’s construction schedule among the nine reasons. The State Engineer’s action box on the application is blank: not approved, not denied.

    Why this mattersOne month after the vote, the water question the county called settled reopened as an emergency.

    In the recordRnM Water SolutionsSanta Teresa Capital, LLC
    OSE — hearing officer report (Aug 20 2025) ↗#
  26. Oct 30, 2025COUNTYC● ledger

    The agreements are signed in private — and they have grown from 359 pages to 1,583

    Commissioners authorized the chair to negotiate final changes outside public session. The package the public saw at the September vote was 359 pages; the one Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez signed six weeks later runs 1,583 — and the word “potable” had been added to the water cap.

    Why this mattersThe document the public read ran 359 pages. The one that governs runs 1,583, and no commissioner read the difference in public.

    In the recordChristopher Schaljo-HernandezDoña Ana County Commission
    Haussamen — final agreements grew exponentially (Dec 18 2025) ↗Executed Memorandum of Understanding (as signed) ↗#
  28. Nov 12, 2025DEALPS

    The closing: twelve instruments in one day

    Consecutive instruments #2525177–2525188 record the whole assembly and distribute it the same day — parcels out to the power entity, four data-center entities, and a 702-acre tract to an entity named “SI SNM01Expansion, LLC” — larger than the announced campus.

    Why this mattersThe recorded footprint is larger than the announced one.

    In the recordSI SNM01Expansion, LLCYucca Growth Infrastructure, LLC (YGI)
    Doña Ana County Clerk — recorded instruments ↗#
  29. Nov 14, 2025AIRPS○ ledger

    The East and West applications are filed — the caps are promises, not hardware

    Acoma, LLC submits two gas-turbine applications. Requested caps: 249.97 and 248.90 tons of NOx against a 250-ton federal review line — while the East application’s own table puts uncontrolled potential at 3,699.16 tons. The caps are built from dispatch promises: “only thirty (30) units will operate at 100% load”; “not more than five (5) turbines will operate simultaneously.” The listed plant owner is Doña Ana County.

    Why this mattersThe cap is not a control technology. It is a promise about how many turbines run.

    NMELC — initial letter re: YGI Microgrid ↗NMED — YGI modeling review (Jun 16 2026) ↗#
  30. 6 weeks
    Dec 24, 2025LAWC

    $32,400 to Padilla from the Alarid cluster — in one day

    Seven CFIS-recorded contributions on a single date, nine months after the amendment became law.

    Why this mattersThe money arrived nine months AFTER the amendment became law. The sequence is the point, and it runs the other way.

    In the recordMichael Padilla
    NM CFIS — contribution records ↗#
  31. 2 weeks
  32. Jan 14, 2026LAWC

    The first critical account of the microgrid loophole

    Source NM describes Section 6 as an ETA circumvention — ten months after the Fiscal Impact Report described the same provision.

    Why this mattersTen months passed between the state's own record describing the exemption and anyone reporting it.

    In the recordSource New Mexico
    Source NM — HB 93 coverage ↗#
  39. 4 weeks
    Mar 20, 2026COURTPS

    Dismissal denied — and the stay denied too

    Judge DeLaney refuses to throw out the Open Meetings challenge, issuing a writ of certiorari for review on the administrative record. She also refuses to pause the ordinances. The validity attack survives; the clock never stops.

    Why this mattersThe challenge to the vote's validity survives and the construction never pauses — every week built strengthens the argument that it is too late to stop.

    In the recordJudge Jennifer DeLaneyDoña Ana County CommissionGreen Chile Ventures LLCNM Environmental Law Center (NMELC)
    NMELC — OMA complaint (Feb 6 2026) ↗#
  40. 4 weeks
  41. Apr 27, 2026AIRC○ ledger

    The threshold-engineered applications are withdrawn

    Acoma pulls the East (10732) and West (10734) microgrids — each 0.03 tons under the major-source line — the day NMED decides to hold a hearing; the fuel-cell replacement's modeling is dated the same day.

    Why this mattersTwo permits engineered to sit just under the review line were pulled the day review became certain.

    In the recordYucca Growth Infrastructure, LLC (YGI)
    NMELC — initial letter re: YGI Microgrid ↗#
  43. 4 weeks
    May 26, 2026WATERPS

    The Supreme Court enters the Rio Grande decree

    In one paragraph the Court ends a thirteen-year case and puts New Mexico under an obligation to cut 18,200 acre-feet a year of depletions in this basin within ten years — half of it within five.

    Why this mattersNew Mexico is now legally obligated to take water OUT of this basin.

    In the recordSanta Teresa, Doña Ana County, NM
    U.S. Supreme Court — Order List, May 26 2026 ↗NM OSE — LRG Water Rights Purchase Program ↗#
  44. May 26, 2026WATERC

    The decree says nothing about a new industrial user

    It is sector-neutral, imposes no moratorium on new appropriations, and nothing on the record reconciles a new large groundwater demand with an obligation to reduce them. That question goes to a state plan due May 2028.

    Why this mattersThe obligation is real and nothing on the record reconciles it with a large new industrial demand.

    In the recordNM Office of the State Engineer (OSE)Santa Teresa Capital, LLC
    Texas Tribune — the settlement is sector-neutral ↗Somach — Supreme Court enters the decree ↗#
  45. May 2026COUNTYC

    A state special audit finds 42 failures across county government

    Jaramillo Accounting Group's special audit — begun over a sheriff's-office dispute, expanded across county operations — finds 42 findings; State Auditor Joseph Maestas calls them “serious and systemic failures.” DFA later deems 19 of them material weaknesses describing an environment where misuse of public money could occur undetected. The audit is about county government broadly; it does not concern Project Jupiter.

    Why this mattersThe institution that holds title to a $165 billion project, and is the counterparty meant to enforce its agreement, has audited weaknesses in its own financial controls.

    In the recordDoña Ana County Commission
    Organ Mountain News — county to spend up to $489K on outside fiscal oversight (Aug 15 2026) ↗#
  46. Jun 2, 2026VOTEC

    Primary day: the capture is on the ballot, and the November matchup is set

    Three Jupiter-connected figures run — among them Shannon Reynolds, third for Assessor, and BorderPlex consultant Jose Ibarra for District 3. And in District 1, Daisy Maldonado — who entered the race over the IRB vote — wins the Democratic primary by 277 votes. The seat is open: Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez, who chaired the $165B vote and signed the final agreements, is not seeking reelection. Her November opponent: water attorney Samantha Barncastle Salopek.

    Why this mattersThe commission majority that approved the deal is already dissolving — the chair's own seat is decided by voters who have watched all of it.

    In the recordChristopher Schaljo-HernandezDaisy MaldonadoJose IbarraSamantha Barncastle SalopekShannon Reynolds
    Organ Mountain News — Maldonado wins the D1 Democratic primary (Jun 3 2026) ↗#
  47. Jun 9, 2026LAWC

    Socorro County adopts a one-year moratorium

    The first New Mexico county to pause data centers outright.

    Why this mattersThe first county to decide it needed time. Three more follow.

    NM Legislature — STTC moratorium framework ↗#
  48. 3 entries · 3 days apartNational coverage, the state's own modeling, and the start of a paid campaign, inside three days.
    Jun 14, 2026PEOPLEC

    NPR: “Worries over water”

    National coverage frames the water question against chile and pecan farming.

    Why this mattersThe water question stops being a local story.

    NPR — Worries over water ↗#
  49. Jun 16, 2026AIRPS

    NMED's modeling review lands

    The state's own numbers for the current permit: 37.2 tpy NOx, minor for PSD, while the site “will be a major source for Title V.”

    Why this mattersThe state's own arithmetic — the numbers the air case is argued from.

    In the recordNM Environment Department (NMED)
    NMED — YGI modeling review (Jun 16 2026) ↗#
  50. Jun 17–30, 2026PEOPLEC

    A paid influencer campaign runs before comments close

    Xomad recruits New Mexico creators for a two-week paid push whose stated goals include helping “increase positive comments” — ending days before the July 6 deadline.

    Why this mattersPaid creators were recruited to shape the comment record in the window before it closed.

    In the recordXomad
    Source NM — reporting on the campaign ↗#
  51. Jun 22, 2026COUNTYC

    The state orders the county under outside fiscal oversight

    DFA requires a state-approved external fiscal agent for the county's capital-outlay and special-appropriation grants — reviews, reconciliations, no advance funding — until all 42 audit findings are remedied. No fixed end date.

    Why this mattersThe county may no longer handle certain state money without a chaperone — while administering the largest IRB in state history.

    In the recordDoña Ana County Commission
    Organ Mountain News — county to spend up to $489K on outside fiscal oversight (Aug 15 2026) ↗#
  52. 3 entries · 2 days apartTwo of these share a date; the third follows two days later.
  53. Jun 30, 2026LAWC

    Santa Fe County adopts an 18-month moratorium

    Data centers of 1 megawatt or more are paused for eighteen months, citing Project Jupiter by name — the second of four New Mexico counties to act.

    Why this mattersA county with no stake in this project paused data centers citing this project by name.

    NM Legislature — STTC moratorium framework ↗#
  54. Jul 2, 2026AIRPS

    Max Shepherd is appointed hearing officer

    The docket opens with final decision authority delegated to the hearing officer.

    Why this mattersOne person now holds final decision authority over the permit.

    In the recordMax Shepherd
    NMED — Scheduling Order (Jul 16 2026) ↗#
  57. 3 entries · 2 days apartA state denial, a county moratorium, and a hearing date, all in the same stretch of mid-July.
  59. The reschedule · 21 days21 daysA denial on Monday, a reversal on Wednesday, a challenge denied inside a month.
  60. 6 entries · 8 days apartSix entries in eight days, bracketing the week the hearing moved.
    Jul 24, 2026COURTC

    Elevate settles — and names its only funder

    Compelled to register, the “secretive Virginia nonprofit” that lobbied NMED to approve the air permit discloses $3,667,000 in contributions, all of it from Yucca Growth Infrastructure — the applicant itself — and $419,478 in ad spend.

    Why this mattersThe nonprofit lobbying the state to approve the permit was funded entirely by the applicant.

    In the recordElevate New MexicoYucca Growth Infrastructure, LLC (YGI)
    NM State Ethics Commission — complaint v. Elevate ↗#
  62. Jul 28, 2026COUNTYC

    The manager who signed the framework MOU is gone; three acting managers take over

    County Manager Scott Andrews — who signed the county's framework MOU three days after the $165B vote — has his contract terminated unanimously, without cause. After a closed session, commissioners appoint Deb Weir, Lucio Luttrell, and Stephen Lopez as JOINT acting managers. The county does not say how authority divides among them, who holds final say over contracts and personnel, or how long the arrangement lasts.

    Why this mattersThe institution administering the largest IRB in state history enters its permit-decision autumn with no permanent executive and an authority structure it has not explained.

    In the recordScott AndrewsStephen LopezDoña Ana County Commission
    Organ Mountain News — county appoints three-person acting management team (Jul 31 2026) ↗#
  63. Jul 29, 2026AIRPS● ledger

    Two days later, the hearing moves five weeks earlier

    The amended order sets September 14 — citing the due-process arguments of the three parties who opposed the move.

    Why this mattersFive weeks of preparation vanished — justified by the due-process objections of the parties who lost them.

    In the recordBruce WetherbeeCarlos RomoChristopher DoddColin CoxEric Jantz
    NMED — Amended Scheduling Order (Jul 29 2026) ↗#
  68. 6 entries · 4 days apartSix entries in four days — the densest stretch in the record.
    Aug 9–10, 2026AIRPS● ledger

    The show-cause order is withdrawn

    The hearing officer takes the fuel question back — “inadvisably filed” — and sends it to sworn testimony at the hearing.

    Why this mattersThe fuel question does not disappear. It moves to sworn testimony, where it is harder to answer.

    In the recordMax Shepherd
    NMED — Sua Sponte Order (Aug 10 2026) ↗#
  71. Aug 11, 2026COUNTYC

    The county creates a citizen monitoring committee — Resolution 2026-101

    Eleven residents — two per commission district, a third from the chair's — with authority to write their own bylaws, elect officers, and hold independent information forums. Members may hold no financial interest for or against the project; the county must provide logistics, Spanish interpretation, and an advising attorney, and is directed to ask the project's companies to participate.

    Why this mattersThe first structural oversight instrument the county has created since the vote it took eleven months ago.

    In the recordManuel A. SanchezDoña Ana County Commission
    Organ Mountain News — county seeks 11 residents for monitoring committee (Aug 15 2026) ↗Doña Ana County — Community Monitoring Committee interest form ↗#
  73. Aug 14, 2026COUNTYC

    The county hires its required fiscal chaperone — up to $489K from reserves

    In a six-minute special meeting, commissioners approve the SENMEDD contract 4–0 to satisfy the DFA order. Staff note one rejected bidder wanted 20% of each grant — $15–20 million across the ~108 affected appropriations. Chair Manuel Sanchez: “truly the best option based off of the cost.” The price may still rise as appropriations arrive.

    Why this mattersComplying with the state's finding that the county cannot yet be trusted with its own grant money costs the reserves half a million dollars, open-ended.

    In the recordManuel A. SanchezDoña Ana County Commission
    Organ Mountain News — county to spend up to $489K on outside fiscal oversight (Aug 15 2026) ↗#
  74. Aug 24, 2026AIRPSahead

    Technical testimony and prehearing motions due

    The next live deadline — experts file their full written evidence and the lawyers make their last arguments.

    Why this mattersThe last day to put expert evidence in front of the hearing officer.

    In the recordNM Environment Department (NMED)
    NMED — Amended Scheduling Order (Jul 29 2026) ↗#
  75. Aug 31, 2026COUNTYCahead

    Monitoring-committee interest forms close

    Residents who want one of the eleven seats must file the county's interest form by this day; commissioners appoint no later than September 4.

    Why this mattersThe one open door that puts residents INSIDE an oversight structure instead of outside a comment window.

    In the recordDoña Ana County Commission
    Doña Ana County — Community Monitoring Committee interest form ↗Organ Mountain News — county seeks 11 residents for monitoring committee (Aug 15 2026) ↗#
  77. The race window109 daysWhy the applicant wanted the hearing moved up.
  78. 7 weeks
    Nov 3, 2026VOTEPSahead

    The general election

    Land Commissioner (Sanchez III vs. Perry), County Commission D1 (Maldonado vs. Barncastle Salopek — the open seat of the chair who signed the agreements), Governor and Lt. Governor.

    Why this mattersTwo of the offices on this ballot have already ruled on this project.

    In the recordDaisy MaldonadoMichelle Lujan GrishamSamantha Barncastle Salopek
    Source NM — Garcia Richard wins Lt. Gov nomination ↗Organ Mountain News — Maldonado wins the D1 Democratic primary (Jun 3 2026) ↗#
  79. 3 weeks
  80. 6 weeks
    Jan 1, 2027VOTEPSahead

    A new governor takes office

    The administration that inherits the project's state-side commitments changes hands.

    Why this mattersThe administration that made the state's commitments is replaced by one that did not.

    Source NM — Garcia Richard wins Lt. Gov nomination ↗#
  81. 3 weeks

Entries marked TV are not yet verified against a primary document. They are shown anyway, badged, because a visible gap is more honest than a silent one — and because publishing them is how they get corrected.

What happens nextCorrections
The hearing has passed
The Watch stands.

The decision was due July 21. Instead: a public hearing — first set for October, then moved up to September 14 at the applicant’s request — and a ruling due by November 23. A $165B question for one desert county, on a schedule that keeps moving. The clock above always shows the next date that matters. Until the ruling, and after, this is the public watch on how it’s being made.

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