URGENT ACTION: Site Layer 1 Data Center Proposed for Grant Co.

Site Layer 1 Data Center Proposed for Grant County

Speak Up On Behalf of Our Water Resources, Clean Air  and Long-term Future

A New York-based, multi-billion-dollar investment firm, Corner Venture Capital, is proposing to construct a data center in southern Grant County that could consume enormous amounts of natural gas and potentially thousands of acre-feet of scarce groundwater, while producing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants every year. The company is backing similar projects in Colorado (Site Layer 2) and Wyoming (Site Layer 4).

The proposed facility, called Site Layer 1, is located on private land just inside the Grant County line on the 30,000-acre Hurt Ranch. With a mix of private, federal and state land, the Hurt Ranch is one of the state’s largest ranches, grazing 5000 head of cattle. The site is adjacent to the Kinder-Morgan El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline System through which it can access natural gas for electric power generation. Site Layer 1 would also be located just a couple miles west of the Continental Divide Trail causing noise and light pollution to this stretch of the National Scenic Trail system.

The Site Layer 1 data center would place a significant demand on our energy and natural resources. According to a public notice published in the Silver City Daily Press, the data center would be powered by 32 natural gas-fueled engines, each capable of producing 9.4 megawatts, for a total of 300.8 megawatts. The facility could consume approximately 2.3 million cubic feet of natural gas every hour, enough gas to power 900 homes for an entire year. Its annual carbon emissions would be equivalent to the emissions from approximately 282,600 cars.

The project’s potential impacts extend far beyond its enormous energy consumption. A data center of this size using wet cooling could consume as much as 6,535 acre-feet of water every year, nearly three times the annual water use of Silver City. The likely source is scarce groundwater from the Hachita Basin, which spans southern Grant, southwest Luna, and eastern Hidalgo counties. Despite the scale of this project, no application for water rights has been filed yet with the Office of the State Engineer.

There is a critical need for public oversight of this project. Before construction can begin, the operator must obtain an air quality permit. The public will have an opportunity to review the permit application, submit comments, and request a public hearing. That process will provide an important avenue for residents to raise concerns about the project’s potential impacts on air quality, water resources, climate, and the region’s long-term future.

The company estimates that it will submit its air quality permit application to the New Mexico Environment Department’s Air Quality Bureau by October 1. The Department must first determine whether the application is administratively complete. Only after that determination will the application be formally noticed for public comment.

About Corner Venture Capital

According to the company’s LinkedIn account, “Corner is a multi-billion dollar investment firm that backs, builds, and operates companies across the AI economy. Corner unifies hard asset investing, company creation, and venture capital to unlock deal flow, relationships, and institutional knowledge. The firm invests across three pillars, what it calls the AI Prism: the technology creating intelligence, the energy and infrastructure powering it, and the irreplaceable human experiences it cannot replicate.”

Our research has revealed that the company is also backing at least two other data center proposals. Site Layer 2 data center representatives in Logan County, Colorado helped shape the county’s ordinance on data centers earlier this year. Project proponents for Site Layer 4 in Platte County Wyoming were successful in lobbying for a rezoning of 5,000 acres of agricultural land that would allow its $26-billion data center project to move forward. State business registrations for Site Layer 1 LLC (Grant Co. New Mexico), Site Layer 2 LLC (Logan Co. Colorado) and Site Layer 4 LLC (Platte Co. Wyoming) all show David Katz, Director of Legal for Corner Venture Capital, as the authorizing individual.

We are concerned that the data center project applicants are not transparent about who they are, where their financial backing comes from, potential water use and other environmental impacts. This shell game is typical of many proponents of data centers. The secrecy and shifting stories from proponents gives credence to efforts to create a moratorium or ban ordinances like those being advocated in Grant County, as well as efforts in other affected communities and at the state level.

Next Steps

Take Action Today!

We cannot afford to wait until the formal public comment period begins to speak up. Now is the time for residents, community leaders, and elected officials to make clear that southern New Mexico’s limited water resources, clean air, and long-term future must come before the demands of a massive, energy- and water-intensive data center.

Contact your elected officials and decision makers and tell them you oppose this wasteful and environmentally harmful proposal. Ask them to stand up for our communities and our scarce water resources, demand full public scrutiny of the project’s environmental impacts, and ensure that the public has a meaningful voice in deciding whether this facility belongs in southern Grant County.

• Contact NM Environment Department Secretary James Kenney and let him know that you are concerned about the air quality impacts of the Site Layer 1 data center and that the CO2 emissions of the proposed data center are incompatible with New Mexico’s carbon emission reduction goals. james.kenney@env.nm.gov or 505-470-6161.

• Contact State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson and tell her that the potential water use by a data center in the Hachita Basin would be an unsustainable use of the state’s scarce groundwater. elizabeth.anderson@ose.nm.gov or (505) 827-6091.

• Contact your County Commissioner in Grant, Luna and Hidalgo counties and let them know your concerns with the project.

• Contact your State Senator and State House Representative and let them know your concerns about the Site Layer 1 proposal. Find My Legislator

• Contact Senator Martin Heinrich, Senator Ben Ray Lujan, and Congressman Gabe Vasquez and voice your concerns with the data center proposal.

Attend a Community Meeting on How to Submit Meaningful Comments on Permit Applications

Stay tuned for details on a community meeting on the Site Layer 1 proposal and how to submit meaningful comments to state agencies on permit applications. Information will be available at www.gilaresources.info and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GilaResourcesInformationProject/

For more information, contact:
Allyson Siwik, Gila Resources Information Project, grip@gilaresources.info, 575.590.7619
Todd Schulke, Center for Biological Diversity, tschulke@biologicaldiversity.org, 575.574.5962