Judge Denies xAI Bid to Toss Southaven Turbines Lawsuit
A federal judge denied xAI’s request to dismiss the NAACP’s lawsuit over gas-fired turbines supplying the Colossus 2 data center in Southaven. The case alleges the turbines operated without Clean Air Act permits, and the NAACP’s request to temporarily halt their operation remains pending.
A federal judge in the Northern District of Mississippi rejected xAI’s motion to dismiss the NAACP’s Clean Air Act lawsuit over methane-powered turbines serving the company’s Colossus 2 data center in Southaven. The ruling keeps the case moving and rejects the company’s arguments that the turbines were temporary, portable and exempt from federal air permitting requirements.
The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, is seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the turbines until they are permitted. Mississippi regulators previously determined that the temporary turbines did not require air permits, while the state issued a permit in March for permanent turbines. The company has said it intends to phase out the temporary units, which it operated under the name xAI before becoming part of SpaceXAI.