What’s going on here?
A new data center in Memphis, Tennessee, initially launched in September 2024, is being powered by pollution-belching portable methane generators without a permit. The culprit? xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company responsible for the chatbot Grok. Now, an advocacy group is fighting back.
What does this mean?
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a US-based NGO set up to protect the environment of the southeastern US through environmental law. It has obtained aerial footage showing that xAI’s Tennessee site, named Colossus, is using 35 of these methane-powered generators. But xAI applied for a permit for just 15, and this request is still awaiting approval.
As these generators are portable they can exploit a loophole in the law, which permits their temporary use in emergencies. Following concerns raised by the advocacy group, the EPA is now looking into potential impeachment of the law.
Amanda Garcia, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said: “xAI has essentially built a power plant in South Memphis with no oversight, no permitting, and no regard for families living in nearby communities…these dozens of gas turbines are doing significant harm to the air Memphians breathe every day.”
Why should we care?
According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, xAI’s methane-burning generators emit harmful nitrous oxides that pollute the air. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas and is also highly reactive in the environment. Excess nitrous oxide pollution can cause damage to the ozone layer and react with other gases to form toxic acid rain. Nasty stuff.
The environmental NGO has raised concerns about the potential health impacts for the residents living in the areas surrounding the data center, as the pollutants from the generators have potential to cause severe respiratory illness.
Colossus was built in just a few months and came online in September 2024. It’s grown rapidly ever since and is incredibly energy-intensive to run – its power demands are similar to a small city. But with the EPA on the case, they might not be able to get away with it for long.
Be curious!
- Read more about the controversy surrounding Musk’s Colossus supercomputer
- From the Curious archives: New Year, more Data. Here’s why you should care about your data usage footprint
Photo by Heidi Kaden on Unsplash
