With statutory requirements that investor-owned utilities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2045, New Mexico is a policy leader in the Interior West on mitigating the impacts of climate change. Yet state policymakers face a new challenge: how to ensure electric utilities can meet New Mexico’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets as the development of energy- and water-hungry data centers explodes across the West.
Projected electricity demand — or load growth — associated with data centers has appeared virtually overnight primarily due to the recent proliferation of artificial intelligence.
The numbers are eye-opening. In February 2025, Public Service of New Mexico (PNM) reported that it had 4,197 megawatts of interconnection requests by large loads, 87% of which it attributed to data centers. Peak demand – the time when electricity or other energy consumption is at its highest – will be 40% higher in 2035. And PNM projects that its annual energy demands will be 11% higher in 2030 and 12% higher in 2035.
Beyond energy demands, we estimate the incremental, new water demands associated with cooling data centers in New Mexico could be 138 million gallons per year in 2035 — enough water to support up to 3,316 individuals.
In this webinar, Data Center Impacts in New Mexico: Policy Solutions for Water and Energy Use, we present the problem and recommend smart policies for mitigating these impacts.
In the webinar, experts from WRA:
- Present a summary of the electricity load forecast for data centers in New Mexico.
- Highlight the potential impacts of new water demand from this data center load growth.
- Provide policy frameworks for protecting customers, ensuring water resources are conserved and encouraging investment in clean, innovative technologies.
- Field questions from attendees on the opportunities and challenges in New Mexico to implementing these policies.
With the right policies in place, data centers can catalyze investments in innovative clean energy resources while driving broader system transformation.
Deborah Kapiloff#
Policy Advisor
As a clean energy policy advisor at Western Resource Advocates, Deborah Kapiloff advocates for policies and programs that reduce emissions in the power and transportation sectors, focusing on decarbonizing utilities throughout the Interior West and accelerating transportation electrification.
Anjali Bean#
Senior Policy Advisor
Anjali develops and advocates for policy and other programmatic changes that will protect and improve New Mexico’s rivers. Her work aims to revitalize and protect rivers and streams in the state to support ecosystems, local communities, and recreation, through improvements to water governance and river protection.
AnnaLinden Weller#
Senior Policy Advisor
As a clean energy senior policy advisor, AnnaLinden works to accelerate the decarbonization of New Mexico’s electricity sector by developing and advocating for policies, regulations, and legislation which will expand clean energy generation, increase energy efficiency and beneficial electrification, and support grid modernization and transmission development in the state.
