Mississippi Approves xAI Power Plant Permit Amid NAACP Lawsuit Threat

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) issued an air permit to xAI on Tuesday, allowing the company to operate 41 gas turbines at its facility in Southaven, Mississippi. The permit decision came just three weeks after the permit comment period ended, as xAI faces a lawsuit threat from the NAACP accusing it of violating federal law by installing and operating gas turbines without air permits.

The civil rights group, acting on behalf of the largely African American local community living near the existing Colossus I facility in Memphis, Tennessee, said xAI began illegally installing and then operating 27 gas turbines at a site in Southaven, Mississippi to power Colossus II, sited across the state line in Memphis. It said this was being done without properly obtaining the necessary preconstruction or operating air permits required by the Clean Air Act.

In order to power its massive Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, Tennessee, xAI is planning to run 41 gas turbines at a site just across the state line in Southaven, Mississippi. The sheer number of turbines would make the facility one of the largest fossil fuel power plants in the state of Mississippi and one of the area's biggest polluters.

"Pollution from these turbines is worsening and will continue to worsen the already poor air quality in Southaven, Mississippi and the Memphis metropolitan area," the NAACP said in a letter declaring its intent to sue xAI. The NAACP said the turbines have the potential to emit a significant amount of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx), above the Clean Air Act's "major source" threshold, and other pollutants including fine particulate matter and carcinogenic formaldehyde, harming largely African American local communities.

The Clean Air Act requires plaintiffs to signal their intent to sue 60 days in advance. xAI was not immediately available for comment.

Internal documents from MDEQ and EPA reveal that the agency was under immense pressure to quickly approve xAI's air permit. The permit issued by MDEQ has a number of serious flaws that violate federal law, run afoul of the agency's own policies, and put families in North Mississippi and Memphis at risk. Alarmingly, the permit likely underestimates the amount of pollution coming from the site and it fails to show that xAI's 41 turbines will not cause dangerous levels of air pollution. The permit also ignores xAI's current operation of up to 27 unpermitted turbines at the site in violation of the Clean Air Act.

Gas turbines like the ones used by xAI release staggering amounts of smog-forming pollution and harmful chemicals like formaldehyde. Communities in North Mississippi and Memphis already struggle with air quality problems, with both DeSoto and Shelby County receiving an 'F' grade from the American Lung Association for smog. xAI's 41 turbines would likely make it the largest source of smog-forming pollution in the area, compounding the air pollution burden on families throughout the region and threatening the health of people in nearby communities.

The turbines would also release large amounts of fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5. Because fine particulate matter travels deep into the lungs and bloodstream, it significantly increases the risk of asthma, heart attacks, respiratory disease, strokes, and other serious health conditions. A recent independent study found that particle pollution from the operation of xAI's proposed permanent gas turbines would measurably increase health risks for families throughout the area — even in places as far away as Germantown, North Memphis, and Hernando — and could result in an estimated $30-$44 million in annual health damages each year.

xAI has been rapidly building its Colossus supercomputer which is being used to train the company's Grok AI chatbot in Memphis and expanding to Southaven. It is currently in phase 2 and is seeking to begin a third phase soon.

After the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is representing the NAACP in this new lawsuit threat, filed an intent to sue xAI in 2024 for installing 35 non-permitted turbines at its Colossus 1 site, the company removed 20 turbines and obtained permits for the remaining 15.

The DEQ said xAI has submitted permit applications for 41 permanent turbines at the site and will run a number of temporary turbines while the applications are being reviewed. The decision also came despite calls to move the hearing, which was held on Election Day and nearly three hours away from impacted communities.