This data center rivals TVA’s largest coal plant for climate pollution
Elon Musk's xAI data center campus in Memphis, Tennessee, along with its associated power generation in Mississippi, is identified as a significant climate polluter, potentially ranking second only to Tennessee's largest coal plant in emissions. Environmental groups, including the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center, have filed a lawsuit against xAI for operating some Mississippi turbines without proper permits and pollution controls, leading to high levels of nitrogen oxide pollution. The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in this legal action.
Elon Musk's xAI data center campus, which includes facilities in Memphis, Tennessee, and power generation in Mississippi, has been identified as a major contributor to climate pollution. According to calculations by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the gas turbines powering the xAI site could release 7 to 8 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, making it comparable to Tennessee's largest coal plant, Cumberland.
The operation relies on a combination of on-site gas turbines and power from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for its Tennessee facilities, such as Colossus 1. A second data center, Colossus 2, located in Mississippi, is powered by 59 gas turbines with a 1.4 gigawatt capacity, many of which reportedly lack pollution control equipment. These Mississippi turbines are cited as the largest source of nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas, exceeding the emissions from the Cumberland Fossil Plant.
In April, the NAACP, represented by SELC and Earthjustice, initiated a lawsuit against xAI, alleging that the company is running some Mississippi turbines without the required permits and pollution controls. The lawsuit argues that these mobile turbines should be regulated as stationary facilities under a recent EPA rule. The U.S. Department of Justice has since intervened in the case, adding the EPA to its petition. An EPA official, Lee Zeldin, clarified that permitting authority for these projects rests with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) in Mississippi and Shelby County in Tennessee, with the lawsuit specifically targeting the Mississippi turbines.