Recently we said that xAI had the largest data center with the highest computing capacity in the world. It occupies about 13 football fields and has already reached one gigawatt of power, the first in the world to achieve that computing capacity. All this has an enormous energy cost, but Elon Musk can rest assured because he has just been approved for the installation of 41 methane gas combustion turbines, to the dismay of neighbors and environmental defenders.
What has happened? Elon Musk has obtained permits to install 41 methane gas turbines to power Colossus 2, its new mega data center located very close to the Tennessee-Mississippi border. The news comes amid strong opposition from both the community and activists, who denounce that air and noise pollution in the area will increase since the turbines that were already operating are going to be doubled. They say on NBC that during the public hearing, none of the speakers spoke in favor of the project, but it ended up being approved anyway.
Two years of controversy. It all started in 2024 with the construction of Colossus in Memphis, Tennessee. Months later, xAI received permission to connect to the electrical grid with a maximum power of 150 megawatts, but it was not enough. In the summer of last year, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) revealed that there were at least 26 gas turbines operating without the necessary permits. In the end they ended up giving him permission to install 15 turbines permanently. Activist organizations such as NAACP have filed lawsuits against xAI for violating the clean air law.
The map of xAI facilities spread across the Tennessee-Mississippi border. Source: Google Maps. Preparation: Xataka
With one foot in each state. The decision to install 41 additional turbines has been made by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), which is where the turbines will be located, but Colossus 1 and 2 are in Tennessee, as can be seen on the map above these lines. That the data centers are in one state and most of the turbines in another is no coincidence. Although the clean air law It is the same for both, in practice Mississippi is being much more lax when it comes to applying it, as has been demonstrated with this decision.
Although there is a border in between, we are talking about the same metropolitan area, so the effects on air quality harm both sides of the border equally. To put it more into context, between Colossus 2 and the facility where the turbines operate there is less than 2km of distance that can be traveled in less than 7 minutes by car.
How much this pollutes. Memphis is one of the states with the worst air quality in the US, so much so that It is known as “the capital of asthma”. They recently counted on Electrek which, according to xAI’s own request, we are talking about 6 million tons of greenhouse gases and 1,300 tons of harmful atmospheric pollutants (nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide among others) each year. And they also point out a striking detail: while all this is happening, Tesla boasts that in 2024 it avoided the emission of 32 million tons of CO2. The level of cynicism is also through the roof.
Image | xAI
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