xAI datacentre in Memphis. Image: Steve Jones/Flight courtesy of SouthWings for SELC A federal regulator has ruled that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, operated dozens of methane gas turbines illegally to power its massive data centres in Tennessee and Mississippi. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared that the portable generators used to power the company’s “Colossus” supercomputer were not exempt from air quality requirements. The ruling effectively closes a local loophole xAI used to run up to 35 unpermitted turbines, which the company claimed were temporary. The EPA’s new policy clarifies that gas turbines require air permits even if they are used on a portable or temporary basis. The decision is a major victory for community activists and the NAACP, which filed a lawsuit last July alleging the turbines violated the Clean Air Act. The Colossus facility sits near historically Black neighbourhoods in Memphis that already face a cancer risk four times the national average due to industrial pollution. “Our communities, air, water, and land are not playgrounds for billionaires chasing another buck,” said Abre’ Conner, director of environmental and climate justice for the NAACP. Methane gas turbines emit nitrogen oxides, which are linked to asthma, respiratory diseases and cancer. The EPA estimates that enforcing these standards will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 296 tons annually by 2032. At full capacity, the Colossus 1 data centre, used to train the chatbot Gro, consumes 150 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 100,000 homes. Musk built the facility in a record 122 days in 2024 and is already expanding with “Colossus 2” and a third supercomputer named “MACROHARDRR,” which may eventually require up to 2 gigawatts of power. The Southern Environmental Law Center stated that the ruling makes it clear that corporations cannot build unpermitted power plants under the guise of temporary infrastructure. While xAI has since obtained permits for some of its machines, dozens more at its secondary sites reportedly still lack the required federal oversight. xAI has not yet commented on the ruling. For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv Share this: