This past summer, activists from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) announced they were going after Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, for what it said were “illegal gas wells that threaten to worsen air pollution problems,” in the Memphis area, where xAI’s “Colossus” data centers are located. It seems that SELC has succeeded now, because the language of the general decision from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about that type of turbine actually confirms the assertion of the activists, undermining the official rubric of the parent company Grok by using the machines.
To meet the computing needs of products like the Grok AI chatbot, Grokipedia, and the Grok graphics generator, xAI has been generating off-grid power for its data center with gas turbines and classifying them as “off-road engines”—temporary generators, apparently used for short-term purposes. That temporary status, it was hoped, would exempt them from air quality requirements. The new revised EPA rules specify that operating such wind turbines, even temporarily, does not provide any exemption from clean air regulations.
According to the Guardian, the deployment of the first “Colossus 1” engines—which eventually numbered 35—benefited from a local environmental law that says generators do not need permits as long as they are on for 364 days or less. The Guardian’s reporting also notes that xAI now has locally permitted generators, but the new EPA rules say the federal government is in charge of those permits, not local authorities.
In a statement published by the NAACP, SELC general counsel Amanda Garcia said the decision “makes it clear that companies are not allowed—and have never been—to build and operate methane gas turbines without a permit and that there is no loophole to allow companies to establish unauthorized power plants,” adding that her organization expects “local health measures to protect a dangerous neighborhood in pursuit of better air.” dirt.”
This sounds like a lifetime ago, but less than a year ago, during Elon Musk’s tenure at DOGE, Musk sought to terminate EPA contracts with the stated goal of reducing government waste. EPA Director Lee Zeldin said at the time, “DOGE makes us better,” adding, “They come up with good recommendations, and we can decide to act on them.”
Sending savings and receipts https://t.co/2SywWa3TRN
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 13, 2025
The xAI media contact email address sends an automatic three-word response to all questions, including one from Gizmodo about what the current turbine status is for the right utilities in Tennessee. Gizmodo also asked xAI if Colossus’ data centers are operating at reduced capacity while the permissions issues are being resolved. We will update if we get any useful feedback.
