Elon Musk's AI company xAI is facing more criticism over its rapid data center expansion near the Tennessee-Mississippi line after Reuters found more gas turbines at the site than the company has publicly acknowledged.
The pollution risk could fall most heavily on nearby predominantly Black communities that already face elevated health risks.
What happened?
Elon Musk's xAI installed 59 natural gas turbines at its Colossus 2 data center project without first getting federal clean air permits. Reuters discovered this after reviewing internal correspondence between regulators and the company. The outlet found that at least 57 of those turbines are in Mississippi, just across the line from Tennessee.
That count is about double what xAI had publicly acknowledged. The turbines' potential pollution also appears to exceed the level that would normally trigger a federal permit under the Clean Air Act.
About 94% of the people living within five miles of the Tennessee facility are Black. Thirty of those turbines alone could release close to 2,500 tons of nitrogen oxide, 4,000 tons of carbon monoxide, and 22 tons of formaldehyde every year.
The dispute reached court in April, when the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center filed suit against xAI, seeking to halt operations.
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Patrick Anderson, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, told Reuters, "The scale of it is astonishing. This is an absolutely huge Clean Air Act violation that threatens public health."
Why does it matter?
Nitrogen oxides and other emissions can aggravate asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and Reuters reported that nearby Black communities have unusually high rates of lung disease.
In Southaven's Colonial Hills neighborhood, Reuters reported that residents say the turbines are audible day and night and sound like jet engines.
Southaven resident Ervin Laws told Reuters, "I can't do anything about it, because he's got more money than me."
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AI development can also put increasing strain on the energy grid. While advanced AI systems can help optimize energy infrastructure, they also require enormous amounts of electricity and, in many cases, significant water for cooling.
When that demand is met with gas-fired equipment rather than cleaner power, the result can be more air pollution, security concerns, and potentially higher costs for nearby communities.
The dispute follows years of similar concerns raised over xAI's turbines near Memphis, where the NAACP has separately sued the company over an earlier round of unpermitted gas-powered turbines.
What's being done?
For now, the main challenge is playing out in court. The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center are contesting the project, arguing the turbines should be regulated under the federal Clean Air Act rather than treated as a temporary exception.
State and federal officials have offered reasons the turbines should remain in place. Mississippi regulators have called the units mobile equipment not due onsite for a full year, which they say exempts them from needing a permit.
Reuters also reported that on June 15, the U.S. Justice Department warned that curbing the turbines could pose a security risk because they help power American military operations.
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