Mississippi holds hearing on xAI data center amid environmental lawsuit threat

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Mississippi regulators will host a public hearing on Tuesday over plans by Elon Musk’s xAI to build a gas-fired power plant to power its Colossus II data center, as the company faces a lawsuit threat by the NAACP, accusing it of violating federal law by installing and operating gas turbines without air permits.

The civil rights group, acting on behalf of the largely African American local community living near the existing Colossus I facility in Memphis, Tennessee, said xAI began illegally installing and then operating 27 gas turbines at a site in Southaven, Mississippi to power Colossus II, sited across the state line in Memphis.

It said this was being done without properly obtaining the necessary preconstruction or operating air permits required by the Clean Air Act.

AIR QUALITY

“Pollution from these turbines is worsening and will continue to worsen the already poor air quality in Southaven, Mississippi and the Memphis metropolitan area,” the NAACP said in a letter declaring its intent to sue xAI.

xAI was not immediately available for comment.

The NAACP said the turbines have the potential to emit a significant amount of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx), above the Clean Air Act’s “major source” threshold, and other pollutants including fine particulate matter and carcinogenic formaldehyde, harming largely African American local communities.

The Clean Air Act requires plaintiffs to signal their intent to sue 60 days in advance.

xAI has been rapidly building its Colossus supercomputer which is being used to train the company’s Grok AI chatbot in Memphis and expanding to Southaven. It is currently in phase 2 and is seeking to begin a third phase soon.

After the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is representing the NAACP in this new lawsuit threat, filed an intent to sue xAI in 2024 for installing 35 non-permitted turbines at its Colossus 1 site, the company removed 20 turbines and obtained permits for the remaining 15.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality hearing is the only chance for the public to weigh in on the project, which SELC has said will be the largest new source of pollution in the area around Memphis in years.

The DEQ said xAI has submitted permit applications for 41 permanent turbines at the site and will run a number of temporary turbines while the applications are being reviewed.  

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by David Holmes)