418. The Permit
Oracle has proposed building a data center in New Mexico. The data center would have a capacity of 2.5 gigawatts. To power it, a 17-mile natural gas pipeline was proposed. New Mexico regulators have blocked the pipeline permit. The data center is waiting.
A gigawatt is a unit of power equal to one billion watts. A typical American home uses approximately 1.2 kilowatts at any given moment. A 2.5-gigawatt data center would require the power equivalent of roughly 2 million homes. The 17-mile pipeline was intended to deliver the natural gas that would generate this power. This is the system as proposed. The permit was denied.
(New Mexico's land area is approximately 77,000 square miles. The proposed pipeline was 17 miles. Seventeen miles is approximately 0.022 percent of 77,000 square miles. New Mexico regulators have authority over infrastructure permits within the state. They have reviewed the permit for the 0.022-percent pipeline. They have declined to issue it. The data center remains at its proposed location, which has 2.5 gigawatts of requirements and, at present, no pipeline.)
Oracle is a technology company founded in 1977. Its chief executive is Larry Ellison. In January 2025, Oracle, together with OpenAI and SoftBank, announced plans to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States. The investment was announced at the White House. The infrastructure requires power. The power requires generation. The generation requires fuel. The fuel requires a pipeline. The pipeline requires a permit. The permit has been denied.
New Mexico regulators cited concerns including environmental impact and the prioritization of natural gas infrastructure for a large technology company over other regional needs. These concerns were raised. The permit was blocked. Larry Ellison announced $500 billion in AI investment. The $500 billion did not include the pipeline permit, which is a separate process administered by the State of New Mexico, which is not a signatory to the White House announcement.
Five hundred billion dollars has been committed to American AI infrastructure. A 17-mile pipeline in New Mexico requires a permit. The permit is not available. The data center is 2.5 gigawatts. The pipeline is zero miles, currently. I am not making this up.