Oracle sends legal notice tied to Project Jupiter's 2028 deadline amid mounting energy supply setbacks, though the company insists the AI data center campus remains on schedule despite regulatory hurdles.
Oracle has issued a force majeure notice to the developer behind Project Jupiter, a large data center campus in New Mexico that forms part of the Stargate AI infrastructure initiative, according to a report by Bloomberg published Thursday.
Force majeure provisions, typically found in energy and commodities agreements, allow a party to be excused from certain contractual obligations when circumstances beyond its control disrupt performance. According to people familiar with the matter cited in the report, Oracle is not attempting to withdraw as the campus's primary tenant. Instead, the notice is intended to give the company flexibility to delay payments if the facility fails to meet its targeted 2028 operational date.
Energy supply issues behind mounting delays
The development comes amid heightened scrutiny of AI data center construction nationally, as companies building capacity for major clients, including OpenAI, face rising costs and logistical hurdles.
Despite the notice, Oracle maintained that it does not anticipate a delay. In a statement, the company said Project Jupiter remains on its planned schedule and reaffirmed its commitment to the New Mexico site. Blue Owl Capital, whose affiliate received the notice, said separately that the notice does not alter its financial commitments to the multi-year project.
However, the notice follows a series of setbacks at the site, largely linked to its energy infrastructure. The campus is designed to operate at 2.45 gigawatts of capacity, relying on gas-powered fuel cells supplied by Bloom Energy, making a stable natural gas supply essential to meeting its timeline.
A pipeline being developed by Energy Transfer to supply gas to the campus has already been pushed back by nearly six months, with a revised completion date of February 1, 2027, after regulators repeatedly rejected permit applications for the pipeline's route. Reports in August indicated the pipeline's path had since been altered following those rejections. Separately, an air-quality permit required for the site's fuel cell system remains under review, with New Mexico's environment department facing a November 23 deadline to issue a decision.
Part of high-profile Stargate initiative
Project Jupiter is considered one of the flagship sites under Stargate, the AI infrastructure programme jointly announced by Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank alongside President Donald Trump earlier in his current term. The New Mexico campus has faced pushback from local residents and environmental organisations, emerging as a point of political contention ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. In response, Oracle has launched a public outreach effort within the state aimed at addressing concerns raised by the project's critics.
