xAI Obtains Permits for 15 Natural Gas Generators at Memphis Data Center
Yesterday, county officials granted permits for xAI to operate 15 natural gas turbines at its data center near Memphis, despite looming legal obstacles.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) claims that Elon Musk’s AI company has been running up to 35 generators without the necessary permits. Together, these generators can generate as much as 421 megawatts of electricity. The SELC intends to sue xAI for violating the Clean Air Act on behalf of the NAACP.
Recently, the firm obtained $10 billion in funding, split evenly between debt and equity.
The Shelby County Health Department’s permit permits xAI to operate 15 Solar SMT-130 generators equipped with specific emissions controls and capable of producing up to 247 megawatts. The SELC has noted that xAI has already been running eight of these units without permits, although the units currently in operation do have the required pollution controls in place.
Under the permit’s terms, xAI is permitted to release significant amounts of pollutants over a rolling 12-month period, including 87 tons of smog-inducing NOx, 94 tons of carbon monoxide, 85 tons of volatile organic compounds, 73 tons of particulate matter, and close to 14 tons of hazardous air pollutants, which include 9.8 tons of formaldehyde, recognized as a carcinogen. The company is required to keep its emissions records updated.
Before the permit was approved, a local community group in Memphis indicated that it had $250,000 set aside for an independent air quality assessment.
The City of Memphis carried out its air quality evaluation in June; however, the SELC voiced several concerns regarding the methodologies used in the testing.
The SELC pointed out that ozone levels were not accounted for during the tests, and that testing took place on days when the wind was directing xAI’s emissions away from the two closest monitoring sites. Additionally, the contractor set up the testing apparatus either right next to or near buildings, which could have affected the results.
Previously, the health department stated that it did not have the authority to permit “mobile” gas-burning turbines that operate for fewer than 364 days, arguing that the EPA would be the suitable regulatory body for such situations. The SELC countered this understanding of the law as “incorrect” and deemed the rationale for inaction “lacking legal analysis.”
