The rapid growth in AI demand is clashing with the constraints of construction work. Oracle had hoped that a natural gas pipeline would supply power to a new 2.45-gigawatt facility in New Mexico. However, it now appears that trucks carrying compressed natural gas will be needed to get the AI data center up and running at the desired pace.
An investigation is still underway to determine whether this strategy is necessary for “Project Jupiter,” a massive AI data center in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico. While it won’t be possible to achieve the full 2.45 gigawatts this way, the trucks can bridge the gap between when the first clusters go online and the completion of the permanent pipeline.
That pipeline is facing significant delays. Regulators in New Mexico rejected the proposed route. According to filings reviewed by Source NM in August, the completion date for the Green Chile pipeline was consequently pushed back from August 15, 2026, to February 1, 2027. A detour was designed to avoid the disputed section of state land, but it did not bring the project back on schedule. This shows
Oracle subsequently sent a force majeure notice to the project developer, with this move, the company aims to protect itself against potential payments if the capacity does not come online on time.
Tried-and-true workaround
Oracle has previously used trucks for faster delivery. At a data center near Salt Lake City, the company relied on truck-delivered natural gas for over a year while awaiting a pipeline. The method is also being used at a data center Oracle is building in Texas for OpenAI.
It’s a costly strategy, as transporting compressed natural gas by truck costs more than delivery via pipeline. In addition, frequent deliveries are required, and any further delays could result in exceptionally high costs on the bottom line.
Part of Stargate
Project Jupiter is part of Oracle’s large-scale expansion for OpenAI. We previously reported that Oracle is building data centers in Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Mexico, among other locations, accounting for approximately 4.5 gigawatts of computing power within Stargate. Financing of approximately $16 billion for the Michigan project is nearly finalized.
These AI ambitions require significant capital without an immediate opportunity to recoup the investments. Oracle cut thousands of jobs to finance the expansion. It is not yet known when the first capacity in New Mexico will actually come online.