xAI is facing a lawsuit for operating over 400 MW of gas turbines without permits

The Colossus Data Center operated by XAI outside Memphis is faced with a trial to operate a fleet of natural gas turbines without a license.

“During the last year, XAI has installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other atmospheric pollution sources on the Colossus site without ever obtaining the pre -construction or the necessary operating air permits,” wrote the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in a letter to Xai.

The Legal Group Submitted the letter On behalf of the NAACP. It serves as an opinion of intention to continue XAI for violations of the Clean Act Act. The law obliges organizations to submit such a letter 60 days before the filing of a prosecution.

Gas turbines have the potential to issue more than 2,000 tonnes of no_X per year, a group of chemicals that contribute to SMOG.

Memphis “already had part of the worst air quality in the region,” notes Selc. “In 2024, Memphis was considered a capital of asthma of the nation by the foundation for asthma and allergies in America due to the high rates of visits and death by asthma.”

Selc lightens that XAI Failure to obtain permits required by federal and local regulators before installing generators. He also alleys that the company did not operate them with appropriate air pollution controls. At one point, XAI had enough turbines to generate 421 megawatts of electricity.

Last summer, the health department of the county of Shelby, which oversees the local compliance of air pollution, “told journalists that XAI turbines were exempt from authorization, although SCHD has still not publicly revealed what XAI operated on its site or the legal basis of such an exemption,” said Selc.

To determine what was going on on the Colossus site, Selc paid an aerial photographer capture images of the establishment in March. The photos revealed that XAI had installed 35 turbines around the perimeter of the data center at the time. Thermal images taken about a month later showed that at least 33 of them were operational, said Selc.

After taking these images, the big chamber of Memphis, a local economic development agency, said that XAI had withdrawn certain turbines.

“Temporary natural gas turbines that were used to supply phase I GPUs before connection of the network are now demobilized and will be removed from the site in the next two months”, Memphis Chamber said. “About half of the operational turbines will remain” until a second substation ends the connection of the data centers to the grid, added the organization, and that once the sub-station was completed, the turbines served as backups.

But a flight of June 15 has shown that at least 26 turbines remained, including three short stories which had been installed since the April flight. The total generation capacity was around 407 megawatts, only 14 shy megawatts of the previous amount.

“With a few exceptions – none of which applies here – new sources of criteria and other atmospheric pollutants in Tennessee must obtain approval of the pre -construction in the form of an air license as well as a permit to operate and issue pollutants,” said Selc.