Earlier this month, tensions boiled over when the Southern Environmental Law Center revealed that xAI had quietly brought in 35 portable methane gas turbines to run the data center. These turbines, the group says, have the capacity to power a city—and to pollute like one too. What’s more concerning is that they were installed without air permits.
“It is appalling that xAI would operate more than 30 methane gas turbines without any permits or any public oversight,” said Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center.
“xAI’s failure to disclose that it’s running dozens of these polluting turbines at its south Memphis data center has left Memphians in the dark about what is being pumped into the air they breathe every day.”
The group discovered the turbines by analyzing satellite images and later captured thermal photos showing 33 turbines emitting heat, suggesting that most, if not all, were operational at the time.