Elon Musk’s xAI, the artificial intelligence company, is facing criticism from environmental activists and community residents in Memphis, Tennessee, for alleged environmental violations at its data centre, according to CNBC.
While residents and activists label the data centre as one of the biggest air polluters in the country, some local officials defend Musk, claiming that his investment is beneficial for Memphis, reported The Guardian.
Pollution Concerns Over xAI
In a letter sent to the Shelby Country Health Department on April 9, the Southern Environmental Law Center pointed to aerial imagery and other data showing that xAI has installed 35 portable methane gas turbines without air permits at its facility, known as the Colossus, according to CNBC. The group argues that these generators can power an entire city and emit huge amounts of toxic pollution. The Guardian further reported that the law center made this discovery using satellite images of the xAI facility.
The first public hearing with the health department is scheduled for April 25.
WREG News cited Memphis mayor Paul Young, who claimed in a public forum that not all of the gas generators were in use. He also noted that xAI had a pending permit application to run 15 generators with the Shelby county health department.
“There are 35, but there are only 15 that are on,” Young told WREG News. “The other ones are stored on the site,” Young added.
The Guardian also reported that the Southern Environmental Law Center has taken new photos of xAI’s facility, including thermal images. These photos indicated that 33 turbines were giving off significant amounts of heat, implying that they were all likely in use at the time the photo was taken. “It is appalling that xAI would operate more than 30 methane gas turbines without any permits or any public oversight,” Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center told The Guardian. “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.”
In March, Elon Musk had purchased another property in Memphis to expand xAI’s infrastructure. The new property is 1 million square feet. The development of this facility in Memphis, amidst Trump’s push for increased reliance on fossil fuels, may help meet the rising demands for AI development in the US. But it also raises serious concerns about sustainability of such growth.
