xAI Adds 16 New Gas Turbines at Mississippi Facility Despite Ongoing Lawsuit

xAI has added 19 earthy state turbines to its 2nd information halfway field successful Southhaven, Mississippi, implicit the past 2 months, according to interior emails seen by WIRED.

The additions travel arsenic xAI is warring a suit from the NAACP and respective biology groups, alleging that the institution is violating the Clean Air Act by operating much than 2 twelve earthy state turbines astatine the tract without due aerial permits.

Emails betwixt an authoritative successful the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and a typical from Trinity Consultants, obtained via a nationalist records petition by the Southern Environmental Law Center and shared with WIRED, amusement that xAI installed 19 portable state turbines connected its tract successful Southaven betwixt precocious March and aboriginal May. That brings the full to 46 turbines operating astatine the site.

A spreadsheet included successful the email to MDEQ, has a file labeled “Total Power Output” that appears to database the megawatt capableness of each turbine connected the site. xAI appears to person added much than 500 megawatts of earthy state turbines since mid-March.

Burning earthy state tin merchandise planet-warming emissions and worsen aerial quality. Officials astatine the MDEQ and xAI did not respond to WIRED’s petition for comment. The additions of the caller turbines to the site, dubbed Colossus 2, were archetypal reported by Mississippi Today.

“As indicated by the facility, each portable/temporary turbines are equipped with power exertion to minimize emissions,” bureau spokesperson Jan Schaefer told Mississippi Today. “MDEQ is evaluating the concern and volition marque the installation alert arsenic to erstwhile it tin nary longer bring further portable/temporary turbines on-site.”

In April, the NAACP, on with the SELC and Earthjustice, filed a suit against xAI, alleging that the institution had been operating a “personal powerfulness plant” successful Southaven by moving 27 state turbines without the indispensable permits. Ben Grillot, a lawyer with SELC, says that the enactment noticed six further turbines astatine the tract during a drone flyover successful April. Only aft getting the MDEQ emails did the squad recognize determination were 19 caller turbines. According to the dates connected the email seen by WIRED, 8 of the 19 caller turbines, representing much than 200 megawatts of output, were installed aft the suit was filed.

The archetypal xAI site, Colossus 1, located implicit the authorities borderline successful Memphis, Tennessee, received wide disapproval successful 2024 aft locals alleged that state turbines astatine that tract were being tally without a permit. Colossus 1 sits successful Boxtown, a historically Black vicinity which has agelong had problems with atrocious aerial quality.

Regulators successful some Tennessee and Mississippi person said that due to the fact that xAI’s turbines are not stationary, it has a twelvemonth to run them without permits nether the Clean Air Act. Last July, Memphis’s section wellness section granted a licence for the turbines astatine the Colossus 1 site, contempt aggravated assemblage opposition. In March, faced with akin assemblage outcry, the MDEQ granted an aerial licence for the Southaven tract to tally 41 state turbines. (SELC says that the 27 turbines successful its suit and the ones added to the tract successful caller months are not portion of this permit. Neither xAI nor the MDEQ answered WIRED’s questions astir whether the turbines listed successful the emails are covered by the aerial licence granted successful March.) Drone footage and nationalist records obtained by quality outlet Floodlight amusement that aggregate turbines astatine the tract were moving successful the weeks earlier the MDEQ granted the permit.