Permits
Permits checklist
1 withdrawn · 2 checked, nothing on file
Nothing was filed with any agency before the project ended.
- ↩Land agreement with New Mexico Tech WithdrawnNew Mexico Tech · June 2, 2026: letter of intent not renewed; it never gave land rights News report · June 2026
- –Checked, nothing on file: Air quality construction permit, Land-use or development application
Risks
Why it stopped, what could revive it
- HighSponsor with no track recordGreen Data has never built a data center, and its CEO's earlier Illinois solar mining and data-center plans also died before construction (press). News report · June 2026
- HighCounty moratoriumSocorro County has paused new data centers for a year from June 2026. News report · June 2026
- MediumOrganized oppositionA petition drew more than 4,600 signatures and the university's alumni association called for an end to talks. News report · June 2026
Power
Power and the grid
Not used, not on record, or dropped
- On-site solar with battery storage Cancelled before any filing10,000 MW; proposed; developer said the plant would be 10 GW against a 2 GW data center News report · March 2026
- Utility grid Never requestedthe local cooperative was never asked to serve the load Company · March 2026
Getting on the grid
Who supplies what, what it costs, and what is still not public.
- March 25, 2026Plan unveiled at the cooperative's board meetingThe developer presents a 10 GW solar farm powering a 2 GW data center. Company · March 2026
- As of June 2026No interconnection ever soughtNo interconnection application, queue position or electric service agreement ever existed. News report · June 2026
- The pitch was off-grid by design; New Mexico has no grid operator or load queue for the site.
- No plant for this campus appears in EIA's federal generator inventory (EIA-860M, Aug. 2026). That inventory covers grid-connected plants only, so an off-grid plant may not be listed yet. State agency · Oct. 2026
Money
Money on record
$50 million a year local economic impact the developer claimed at full operation (press). News report · June 2026
Not on record: financing, incentives or published investment figure: no lender, bond or abatement application on record
Timeline
What happened, and what is due
SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming
- Jan. 2026Site New Mexico Tech and Green Data sign a non-binding letter of intent, not made public News report · Jan. 2026
- March 25, 2026Site Plan unveiled at the Socorro Electric Cooperative board meeting News report · March 2026
- May 11, 2026Permits Village of Magdalena adopts a resolution opposing the project News report · May 2026
- May 12, 2026Permits Socorro County commissioners vote to start the moratorium process News report · May 2026
- May 19, 2026Site Town hall of about 200 people is near-unanimously opposed News report · May 2026
- June 2, 2026Site New Mexico Tech declines to renew the agreement; the project is cancelled News report · June 2026
- June 9, 2026Permits Socorro County adopts a one-year data-center moratorium, unanimously News report · June 2026
- Sept. 28, 2026Money Green Data announces a partnership with New Mexico's building trades council for other state projects Company · Sept. 2026
Construction activity
Since Oct. 2026: 1 satellite capture.
The buildings
Specs
2030 to 2031
original completion target: build starting 2026, four to five years (press)
- Atmospheric water generation: proposed to make the campus water-neutral (company claim, concept only) Company · Sept. 2026
Who is involved
Owners, partners and builders
Developer
- Green Data Center Real Estate Inc.: Vancouver-based developer
- Jason Bak: founder and CEO
Landowner and utilities
- New Mexico Tech: landowner and letter-of-intent counterparty; president Michael Jackson ended the deal
- Socorro Electric Cooperative: local utility, never asked to serve
Opponents
- Village of Magdalena, NMT Alumni Association and a Change.org petition
Still unknown
Open questions
- Whether Green Data will return with a different structure (the university left that door open).
- The letter of intent itself was never published.
Where this comes from
119 records from 20 documents
Drawn from news reports, company statements, state agency records, our own analysis, securities filings and satellite captures, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.
News report 11Company 5State agency 3Analysis 1SEC filing 1Satellite 0
Evidence
Every quote behind this page
Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.
Power (19)
- Developer: Green Data Center Real Estate Inc. (dba Green Data Centers)“Green Data Center Real Estate Inc. (Green Data Centers or the Company), a developer of autotrophic data centers that generate their own renewable power and produce their own water”Company · Sept. 2026 · grade B
- Water use stated: Water-neutral by design (company claim): atmospheric water generation produces the facility's own water rather than drawing aquifers or municipal supplies“Atmospheric water generation designed to make each facility water-neutral, producing its own water rather than drawing down local aquifers or municipal supplies”Company · Sept. 2026 · grade B
- Role of the on-site plant: prime (proposed off-grid 'autotrophic' model; the grid was not part of the pitch)“facilities designed to feed themselves, generating their own power from on-site solar generation backed by battery storage”Company · Sept. 2026 · grade B
- Grid operator: none (WECC, New Mexico has no ISO/RTO and no load queue exists for this site)“New Mexico is in the Western Interconnection (WECC) with no ISO/RTO; no interconnection process was ever started”grade C
- Sponsor track record: Neither Green Data nor CEO Jason Bak has ever successfully built a data center; Bak's recent southern-Illinois solar crypto-mining proposal and former-Motorola-campus data-center conversion also die“a proposed solar-powered cryptocurrency mining operation in southern Illinois and a plan to overhaul a former Motorola corporate campus into a solar-powered data center — died before they got off the ground”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Stated campus size: 2,000 MW“Plans to build a 2GW, 10,000-acre data center in Socorro, New Mexico, have been scrapped following widespread backlash to the proposal”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Proposal summary: 2 GW data center powered by a 10 GW solar farm on New Mexico Tech land, ~10,000 acres“data center developer Green Data floated the idea of developing a 10GW solar farm that would power a 2GW data center located on land owned by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Stated campus size: 2,000 MW“Plans to build a 2GW, 10,000-acre data center in Socorro, New Mexico, have been scrapped following widespread backlash to the proposal”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Phases:, no phases were ever defined“Back in March, data center developer Green Data floated the idea of developing a 10GW solar farm that would power a 2GW data center”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Utility:, no serving utility was ever engaged and no electric service was ever requested“Although no formal application has yet been submitted”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Interconnection status:, no interconnection application or queue position ever existed“Although no formal application has yet been submitted”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Electric service agreement signed:, no electric service agreement with any utility“Although no formal application has yet been submitted”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Power plan: onsite (proposed only, never engineered, permitted or filed)“Back in March, data center developer Green Data floated the idea of developing a 10GW solar farm that would power a 2GW data center”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Green Data Socorro is cancelled: New Mexico Tech President Michael Jackson announced Jun 2, 2026 that NMT would not renew or extend its agreement with Green Data (insufficient contiguous university land among the reasons“Plans to build a 2GW, 10,000-acre data center in Socorro, New Mexico, have been scrapped following widespread backlash to the proposal”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Interconnection status: none - proposal stage only; project cancelled June 2, 2026 before any filing existed: Green Data (CEO Jason Bak) pitched the project at the Mar 25, 2026 Socorro Electric Cooperative board meeting an“Although no formal application has yet been submitted, some have already begun to voice opposition to the proposed project”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Stated campus size: 2,000 MW“developer Green Data floated the idea of developing a 10GW solar farm that would power a 2GW data center”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- On-site generation: 10,000 MW“developer Green Data floated the idea of developing a 10GW solar farm that would power a 2GW data center”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Cooling: Atmospheric water generation proposed to supply cooling water (concept only; no cooling design ever published)“technology called atmospheric water generation to pull moisture out of the air and convert it into usable water, rather than draining local aquifers”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- On-site power technology: Solar PV + battery storage (proposed); small modular reactors mentioned as a possibility“The project would cover 10,000 acres west of Socorro Peak and north of Highway 60, and could potentially make use of small modular reactors”News report · March 2026 · grade C
Money and contracts (19)
- Stated capital cost: No capex figure was ever published for the campus“No dollar investment figure appears in any source opened, including the sponsor's own releases”grade C
- Financing:, no financing was ever closed, announced or filed for the campus“No lender, instrument or amount appears in any source opened”grade C
- Incentives:, no IRB, LEDA or abatement application was ever made“approved in Sept. 2025 by the Dona Ana County Board of County Commissioners through the issuance of $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds (Project Jupiter — the control case)”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- existence check: existence check No executed development agreement, land lease, IRB, LEDA agreement, electric service agreement or PPA exists for this campus in any source checked; the project died at the LOI stage“Although no formal application has yet been submitted”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Economic impact claimed: 50000000 USD/yr“he believed the data center at full operation would generate $50 million in annual local economic impact”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Project status: Cancelled June 2, 2026 - New Mexico Tech declined to renew/extend its agreement with Green Data (university lacked enough contiguous land); no formal application was ever submitted; Socorro County adopted a“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”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Project cancelled: New Mexico Tech declined to renew or extend its agreement with Green Data; NMT President Michael Jackson announced on Jun 2, 2026 that both parties mutually concluded not to proceed under the current f“the President of New Mexico Tech, Michael Jackson, said in a statement on June 2 that they would not be proceeding with the project”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Stage: cancelled“they were choosing not to renew or extend their agreement with Green Data”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Paper or real: Paper campus: letter of intent only, no land control, no permit application, no interconnection, no tenant, no financing; sponsor has never built a data center“In fact, Bak and Green Data have not successfully built a data center before”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- letter of intent (letter to negotiate): termination / non-renewal NMT declined to renew or extend the framework; both parties mutually concluded not to proceed under it; the framework lapsed with no successor agreement“they were choosing not to renew or extend their agreement with Green Data”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- NMT President Jackson announces the LOI framework will not be renewed or extended, project cancelled“they were choosing not to renew or extend their agreement with Green Data”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- NMT Alumni Association issues a statement to the Board of Regents calling for an end to negotiations with Green Data and its affiliates, questioning the process, feasibility and financial unknowns“a scathing statement calling for an end to negotiations with Green Data and its affiliates was issued by the New Mexico Tech Alumni Association”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- letter of intent (letter to negotiate): condition precedent Any further step was contingent on Green Data answering an extensive list of technical and financial questions posed by NMT (per VP for Administration and Finan“a letter to negotiate — essentially an agreement to talk, contingent on Green Data answering an extensive list of technical and financial questions”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- letter of intent (letter to negotiate): confidentiality / exclusivity No NDA was signed (per NMT's VP Walsh) and no exclusivity or land-control clause has ever been disclosed, the absence of these clauses is the finding“She said Tech did not sign an NDA, but a letter to negotiate”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- USDA natural-disaster (drought) declaration covers Socorro County in late May 2026, the backdrop to the fight over the project's water claims“the adjacent middle Rio Grande began drying up again. In late May, the United States Department of Agriculture issued a natural disaster declaration for multiple New Mexico counties, including Socorro”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- Tenants:, no tenant was ever named“the company would provide power infrastructure, leaving the provision of compute to its tenants”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Tenant status: none announced, sponsor model was to build power infrastructure and let unnamed future tenants provide compute“Green Data CEO Jason Bak has said that the company would provide power infrastructure, leaving the provision of compute to its tenants”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- letter of intent (letter to negotiate): scope Non-binding framework to explore a data-center partnership on NMT land, in NMT's words an agreement to talk; no lease, land sale or development rights were conveyed“ultimately decided not to renew or extend the initial letter of intent framework”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
- NMT and Green Data sign a letter of intent / letter to negotiate; not disclosed to the public at the time“the university had been in talks with Bak since at least January, but ultimately decided not to renew or extend the initial letter of intent framework”News report · Jan. 2026 · grade C
Permits and government (19)
- Green Data Centers announces a partnership with the NM Building and Construction Trades Council for its New Mexico projects, the sponsor remains active in NM after the Socorro cancellation“Green Data Center Real Estate Inc. and the New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council today announced a partnership”Company · Sept. 2026 · grade B
- Retail co-op: Socorro Electric Cooperative, Inc. (site lies in SEC territory; SEC was never asked to serve the load)“This is March 25, 2026 Board Meeting by Socorro Electric Cooperative on Vimeo”Company · March 2026 · grade B
- Socorro Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees: Green Data proposal publicly unveiled: 10 GW solar farm powering a 2 GW data center on NMT land west of Socorro Peak and north of Highway 60; Bak said construction could be“This is March 25, 2026 Board Meeting by Socorro Electric Cooperative on Vimeo”Company · March 2026 · grade B
- NM HB 93 (2025) amended the Energy Transition Act: energy generated within a privately owned microgrid is not considered a retail sale until 2035, the statutory frame an off-grid pitch like this one relies on“Energy generated within a privately owned microgrid shall not be considered retail sales until 2035”State agency · 2025 · grade B
- Regulatory status: Socorro County one-year moratorium on data centers adopted June 9, 2026“The Socorro County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a yearlong moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure projects Tuesday evening”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- County moratorium: Socorro County one-year moratorium on data centers adopted June 9, 2026“The Socorro County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a yearlong moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure projects Tuesday evening”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Socorro County adopted a one-year moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure on Jun 9, 2026, following months of resident opposition to this proposal“The Socorro County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a yearlong moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure projects Tuesday evening”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Moratoria: Socorro County one-year moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure on unincorporated county land, adopted unanimously June 9, 2026; advisory committee process begun“The Socorro County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a yearlong moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure projects”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- moratorium (local regulation): adopted, one year, unincorporated county land; advisory committee process begun“The Socorro County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a yearlong moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure projects”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Socorro County Board of Commissioners: Adoption of a one-year moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure on unincorporated county land; process begun to form an advisory committee on data-center regulations; B“The Socorro County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a yearlong moratorium on data centers and related infrastructure projects Tuesday evening”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- air quality construction permit: never filed“Although no formal application has yet been submitted”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- land use / development application: never filed“The data center would likely be built on land owned by New Mexico Tech, although a site has yet to be selected”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Opposition: Organised opposition: Change.org petition with 4,644 signatures by June 1, 2026; NMT Alumni Association statement to the Board of Regents; Village of Magdalena resolution of opposition (May 11, 2026); near-unanim“A petition against the proposal has gathered more than 4,600 signatures”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- New Mexico Tech town hall (Macey Center): Public town hall on the proposal; planned presentations derailed by ~200 attendees in near-unanimous opposition; questions on water, power, Bak's background and VLA interference“Planned presentations were derailed May 19 as attendees peppered New Mexico Tech President Michael Jackson and the developer with questions”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- Socorro County Board of Commissioners: Unanimous vote to begin the process of considering a data-center moratorium (public meetings and feedback to follow before any adoption)“The Socorro County Board of Commissioners will consider a moratorium on data centers, following a unanimous vote Tuesday”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- Village of Magdalena Board of Trustees: Resolution formally opposing the proposed Green Data Center and associated solar development“formally expresses its opposition to the proposed Green Data Center and associated solar development”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- City of Socorro (city hall forum): Public forum on the proposal (mid-May 2026, days before the May 19 NMT town hall; exact date not stated in the Chieftain report). NMT VP Delilah Walsh explained the letter to negotiate;“She said Tech did not sign an NDA, but a letter to negotiate — essentially an agreement to talk”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- Announced: March 25, 2026 (public unveiling at the Socorro Electric Cooperative board meeting; the Jan 2026 letter of intent was not public)“At the March 25 board meeting of the Socorro Electric Cooperative, developer Green Data floated the idea of developing a 10GW solar farm”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Proposal publicly unveiled at the Socorro Electric Cooperative board meeting, the first public disclosure, two months after the LOI“At the March 25 board meeting of the Socorro Electric Cooperative, developer Green Data floated the idea”News report · March 2026 · grade C
Site and other (18)
- Aliases: Green Data Center Socorro; New Mexico Tech data center proposal“Plans to build a 2GW, 10,000-acre data center in Socorro, New Mexico, have been scrapped following widespread backlash”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Owner companies:, no project LLC or SPV was ever identified for the Socorro campus“NM SoS Enterprise portal is JS-only and could not be queried with the text fetcher”State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- NM Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard refuses to approve the Aetherion sublease at Spaceport America, holding that Sierra County's moratorium applies to the state trust land“Simply put, I will not be approving any data centers, including the proposed Aetherion sublease at Spaceport America”News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
- Sierra County adopts an 18-month data-center moratorium, the county containing Spaceport America, Bak/Aetherion's other New Mexico target site“The same data center company was behind another proposal to build a data center and solar array on 10,000 acres in Socorro”News report · July 2026 · grade C
- US Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) calls on Socorro County leaders to pass the moratorium, citing limited transparency and a lack of clear answers“the proposed development offers limited transparency and a lack of clear answers”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Site acres: 10000 acres“Plans to build a 2GW, 10,000-acre data center in Socorro, New Mexico, have been scrapped following widespread backlash to the proposal”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Operator: Green Data Centers (proposed only; cancelled before any operating structure existed)“Plans to build a 2GW, 10,000-acre data center in Socorro, New Mexico, have been scrapped”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Land control:, only a non-binding letter of intent / letter to negotiate (Jan 2026) that conveyed no land rights and lapsed on June 2, 2026“ultimately decided not to renew or extend the initial letter of intent framework”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Current target date: n/a, project cancelled June 2, 2026“the President of New Mexico Tech, Michael Jackson, said in a statement on June 2 that they would not be proceeding with the project”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Construction stage: not stated“Plans to build a 2GW, 10,000-acre data center in Socorro, New Mexico, have been scrapped”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Time to service (months): n/a, cancelled before any application“Plans to build a 2GW, 10,000-acre data center in Socorro, New Mexico, have been scrapped”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Anchor partner New Mexico Tech walked away on Jun 2, 2026; the campus is cancelled (a future, differently-structured conversation was left open by NMT)“they would not be proceeding with the project”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- a separate moratorium petition passes 1,000 signatures“As of June 1, a petition opposing a Socorro County data center had attracted 4,644 signatures on Change.org”News report · June 2026 · grade C
- Address: Site never formally selected, NMT: the data center would be on NMT land but a site had yet to be selected“The data center would likely be built on land owned by New Mexico Tech, although a site has yet to be selected, university officials say”News report · May 2026 · grade C
- Name: Green Data Socorro“A 2GW data center could be built in Socorro, a city in central New Mexico”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Address: New Mexico Tech land west of Socorro Peak and north of US Highway 60, Socorro, Socorro County, NM“The project would cover 10,000 acres west of Socorro Peak and north of Highway 60”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Acres: 10000 acres“The project would cover 10,000 acres west of Socorro Peak and north of Highway 60”News report · March 2026 · grade C
- Original target date: 2030-2031 (sponsor: begin construction in 2026, four to five-year completion timeline)“the company's plan was to begin construction this year, with a four to five-year completion timeline”News report · March 2026 · grade C