Proposed Data Center Information
Power Point Presentations
May 19, 2026 NMT Town Hall Presentation
FAQs for New Mexico Tech regarding the proposed data center
Questions for NMT
Announcements and Updates
Dear Members of the Campus Community,
As mentioned during the March 6, 2026 regular Board of Regents meeting, and in a manner consistent with institutional processes, the New Mexico Tech leadership team introduced the concept of a public-private partnership with a private-sector developer to explore the feasibility of a commercial-grade data center facility on university land. Evaluating an initiative of such scope, impact, and duration requires multiple levels of review and detailed analyses along with the eventual approval of the Board of Regents and governmental entities.
During the initial phase of this process we identified several material considerations that led both parties to mutually conclude that proceeding under the current framework is not the right path at this time. First, a project of this massive scale would benefit from a contiguous footprint of roughly 16 square miles. While NMT holds significant land assets in Socorro County, our internal review confirmed that NMT does not have a contiguous block of unencumbered acreage at the scale this concept would require (we hold less than one-half of what would be needed).
Other, high-level topics that would need to be thoroughly addressed before we could even begin discussing specifics include the type of solar array proposed (e.g., low-visibility profile vs. agrivoltaics) and whether the integration of alternative renewable energy sources, such as geothermal energy, is possible. The latter is of particular interest to NMT given our geothermal graduate certificate program, our forthcoming FY27 state budgetary requests that will include resource requests for geothermal initiatives, and whether our activities could help contribute to the NM Energy Transition Act’s implementation. And finally, this does not include the many detailed questions that will need to be addressed. Performing our due diligence on the details will require a significant amount of time on our part for an effective evaluation; our due diligence would also require an independent evaluation by a neutral third party. I have shared these considerations with the developer, and together we have agreed not to renew or extend the initial Letter of Intent framework at this time.
Should circumstances evolve in the future, whether through changes in scope, land availability, or most importantly the availability of an operational reference facility, NMT remains open to revisiting a conversation. Regarding the latter, a similarly designed facility, operating for an established period, would give us concrete reference data against which to evaluate feasibility and performance expectations. It would also let us address the concerns raised by individuals and in the resolution by the Village of Magdalena. Even if we consider entertaining a revised, scaled or phased proposal in the future, we would follow our standard institutional process for evaluating the feasibility of an initiative that includes gathering feedback and questions from all constituents—campus, local, state, and federal. And I would like to thank everyone, within and outside the campus community, who provided feedback and questions for us to review as part of our evaluation process.
As I have mentioned to the campus on multiple occasions, NMT and higher education
in general, must be more entrepreneurial—from how we engage students in the classroom
to exploring and participating in Public-Private Partnerships. We will continue to
explore such alternative and supplemental opportunities to enhance our students’ educational
experience, prepare them to enter the STEM workforce, and expand the research and
funding opportunities available to our faculty, staff, and students. As the largest
employer in the County of Socorro, exploring such opportunities and evaluating them
thoroughly will remain our priority to ensure we directly and responsibly leverage
our resources to benefit our campus, local, and state communities.
Sincerely,
Michael Jackson
President