Environmental and civil rights groups are challenging a decision to grant xAI a permit to run 15 natural gas turbines at its data center in Memphis.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), working on behalf of civil rights group the NAACP and environmental justice organization Young, Gifted and Green, have filed an appeal with the Memphis and Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board.

They are challenging a decision from the Shelby County Health Department, which gave xAI permission to permanently install the turbines at the data center on Paul Lowry Road in the city.

xAI, Elon Musk’s AI venture that is behind the Grok chatbot, has been using gas turbines, a polluting source of energy, at the data center under a temporary permit since it opened last year, a move that has sparked much controversy.

It comes as xAI is reportedly looking to secure data center capacity in Saudia Arabia.

xAI turbine appeal

After initially installing 15 gas turbines in Memphis under a temporary permit, in April it was revealed that the company increased the number of turbines at the facility to a reported 35, something campaigners say was not covered by its license.

An xAI statement issued in May said that it had started removing turbines from the site, and that once a new 150MW electrical substation to serve the data center comes online in the Fall, it will use gas power for backup only.

But opponents say that by making the turbines permanent, the health department is violating its own rules, as well as federal regulations, and giving xAI permission to run the machines 24 hours a day, damaging air quality in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods.

“The Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) failed to address the dozens of unpermitted gas turbines that were installed at the xAI data center over the last year and ignored hundreds of comments opposing the draft permit,” a statement from SELC said.

“While responding to those comments, SCHD wrongly claimed that the federal Clean Air Act didn’t apply to xAI’s unpermitted gas turbines, citing an exemption for ‘nonroad engines’ - typically defined as things like construction equipment, smaller backup generators, or lawn mowers.

“However, the Clean Air Act specifically says that turbines as large as the ones at the xAI site do not qualify for this exemption. The health department’s flawed narrative creates an extremely concerning precedent that would allow xAI or other companies to disregard federal and local law and operate large polluting turbines without any permits or penalties.”

The appeal contends that the turbines should not qualify for the nonroad exemption and asks for the air pollution control board to vacate the air permit for the xAI data center.

The NAACP has already started legal proceedings against xAI for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson said: “We will persist until the health department and every other agency follow the law, and we will ensure that the safety and well-being of Black people are not treated as secondary to the profits of Elon Musk’s xAI.

“Our health shouldn’t be threatened at the hands of billionaires who circumvent the law.”

Allegations "baseless and politically driven" - xAI

The data center is home to xAI's Colossus supercomputer, which went live in July 2024. The company is planning a second data center in Memphis, in the Whitehaven area of the city, to provide more processing power for Colossus.

A spokesperson for xAI said SELC's action was a "baseless, politically driven appeal" that is "riddled with factual inaccuracies, legal fiction and most importantly, undermines the diligent and important work done by the county leaders in properly issuing the construction permit."

They added: "The 15 permanent turbines subject to the properly issued construction permit would make the Electrolux facility the lowest emitting facility of its type in the United States. Despite this, SELC seeks to appeal the properly issued construction permit that enables us to achieve this remarkable milestone. Here is another important fact: all of the temporary turbines at Electrolux have already been decommissioned and the only turbines operating are the ones allowed under the properly issued construction permit.

"To be clear, xAI has, and will continue to comply with all federal, state and local laws."