xAI expands Mississippi data centre fleet with 19 unpermitted turbines amid Clean Air Act litigation
The artificial intelligence firm’s installation of additional natural gas units comes as the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Centre argue the equipment violates federal air quality laws.
xAI has installed 19 additional natural gas turbines at its Southaven, Mississippi data centre, bringing the total number of portable generators on the premises to 46. The new units were added between 25 March and 6 May, a move that more than doubles the number of turbines the company had when it arrived in the state last year. This expansion supports the Colossus 2 campus, which is used to train the firm’s Grok AI assistant.
The installation occurs while xAI faces an ongoing lawsuit from the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Centre. The legal action alleges that the company is violating the Clean Air Act by operating unpermitted methane gas generators that pose public health risks to nearby communities. The litigation centres on a critical regulatory distinction: whether the turbines should be classified as mobile or stationary under federal law.
Regulators currently classify the units as mobile, a designation that allows xAI to operate them for up to a year without obtaining an air permit. The plaintiffs argue that the generators are effectively stationary and require permits and adequate pollution controls. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has noted that the state is unable to measure the toxicity of emissions without such permits.
xAI notified the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality of the new additions earlier this week, although regulators stated the company was not legally obligated to provide such notification. The 19 new turbines are located at the Southaven site, which is distinct from the original Colossus site in South Memphis, specifically the Boxtown community, where xAI was granted a permit last summer.
The lawsuit, filed last month, contends that the pollution from these generators poses significant health risks, particularly to the largely Black community of Boxtown in South Memphis. Ben Grillot, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Centre, described the continued operation of unpermitted turbines as an insult to families concerned about air quality. The outcome of the case depends largely on whether decision-makers accept the argument that the turbines are stationary rather than mobile.
