Data Centers: Elon Musk’s xAI has fired up dozens of polluting, gas-powered generators to fuel the Grok chatbot — and wants to add more
Devan Jenkins used to see dense woods around her family home. Now, she looks at data centers and industrial development. A tangle of massive power lines sits directly in front of her property. Memphis Light, Gas and Water operates this expanded electrical grid.
Colossus 2 sprawls at the end of her street. Elon Musk’s company xAI built this second data center. The facility powers his controversial AI chatbot, Grok. Less than two miles away in Southaven, Mississippi, xAI owns an energy plant. This plant features over two-dozen towering gas turbines.
These machines arrived last summer. They disrupted daily life on Jenkins’ property. The turbines create a deep, endless drone. The noise seeps through walls and windows. Jenkins shares the house with her grandparents. She says the sound never stops. It often gets louder at night. This makes thinking clearly hard. Falling asleep is even harder.
Community Opposition Mounts
“You can feel it rattling your eardrums,” Jenkins said. “It makes you feel like you’re going insane.”
Jenkins joins many locals who oppose xAI’s growing presence. They worry about their health. They fear for the local environment. Hundreds of people attended a public hearing in Southaven last month. They denounced the company. They accused xAI of breaking federal law. They said xAI put public safety at risk.
A hearing focused on a proposed permit. This permit would let an xAI subsidiary install over 40 permanent gas turbines at its Southaven plant. These new machines would replace 27 temporary turbines. The temporary ones ran without permits for nearly a year. Everyone at the hearing opposed the plan. Still, some residents worried xAI would win.
Expanding Into Southaven
Angie Davis moved from Memphis to Southaven 30 years ago. Her family lives next to the unpermitted gas turbines. She felt authorities ignored their concerns. Davis believes xAI chose this location on purpose. She thinks the broader incursion into Southaven was no accident. She doubts xAI would have built there if officials thought the community could fight back.
A Familiar Pattern of Pollution
xAI’s actions have been contentious, even by data center standards. The company built its first data center, Colossus 1, very quickly. They used unpermitted gas turbines to speed things up. They put up to 35 machines in Memphis’ Boxtown neighborhood.
This move sparked widespread backlash and sustained protest from residents. xAI finally had to obtain permits for some of those turbines last summer.
Health and Environmental Risks
The company repeated this process for Colossus 2 in Whitehaven. They put up to 27 unpermitted turbines in Southaven. They are using them to meet the data center’s energy needs during construction. xAI also plans to build a third data center in Southaven soon. They have not shared power plans for it yet.
These gas turbines are loud. They also release dangerous air pollutants. They emit highly reactive gases known as nitrogen oxides. These gases cause respiratory illnesses. The turbines release particulate matter. This mix of airborne particles and droplets found to worsen asthma harms public health. They also emit formaldehyde, which causes cancer.
Skipping State Permits
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) let xAI forgo permits for the turbines. The agency claimed a state rule allowed this. It exempts “temporary-mobile” engines for up to one year. Critics disagree with this decision. They note xAI operated without emissions limits since August 2025.
Charly Park belongs to a local coalition opposing the xAI plant. She spoke at the February 17 hearing. She said xAI often runs temporary turbines without permission. She pointed out they did it in Memphis and again in Southaven.
Federal Law Conflicts
On January 15, the EPA updated pollution control standards for gas turbines. Environmental groups say this rule affirms that temporary gas turbines do require permits. They argue xAI’s Southaven plant violates federal law. The NAACP announced a legal challenge on February 13.
LaTricea Adams leads the nonprofit Young, Gifted and Green. She reminded officials that federal law beats state law. The Clean Air Act is not optional. Still, xAI breaks the law.
MDEQ officials argue the new EPA rules do not force permits for temporary turbines. They say states still decide this. xAI ignored all requests for comment.
A Massive New Power Plant
xAI recently asked for a state permit for long-term power. They want 41 permanent gas turbines in Southaven. This plant would generate about 1.2 gigawatts of power. That equals more than half the maximum output of Hoover Dam.
This large plant would be subject to several Clean Air Act requirements. xAI must add pollution controls to its turbines. They must prove their emissions will not ruin local air quality. MDEQ officials believe the facility can follow the law.
Calculating the Harm
The Southern Environmental Law Center released an independent study. A Harvard researcher led the work. The study showed massive health risks. The permanent turbines would dramatically increase particulate matter pollution around Memphis.
Researchers linked this pollution to premature deaths and hospital visits. The health damages could hit $44 million every year. South Memphis neighborhoods face the highest risks. These mostly Black communities are already overburdened with chronic illness.
Community Outcry Continues
Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson called it environmental racism. He said corporations target historically polluted communities. Residents warned the turbines would dump hundreds of tons of pollution. DeSoto County and Shelby County both earned an “F” rating for ozone pollution last year.
Local mother Chestela Farmer lives next to the plant. She says breathing is too difficult now. She views it as a health crisis. Residents begged regulators to protect people, not industry.
Turbines Win Final Approval
Despite the outcry, a Mississippi regulatory board unanimously approved the permit. They granted xAI permission to install permanent turbines. Resident Shannon Samsa felt absolute dread. She told the board the permit impacts their homes, health, and lives.
Southaven residents might sue over the noise and air pollution. Samsa feels local leaders failed them. She says xAI acts like it can do whatever it wants.
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