TECH
Elon Musk’s xAI accused of worsening Memphis smog with unauthorized gas turbines at data center

PUBLISHED WED, AUG 28 2024 • 8:00 AM EDT UPDATED WED, AUG 28 2024 • 3:58 PM EDT
Lora Kolodny
@IN/LORAKOLODNY/

KEY POINTS
• Environmental advocates say Elon Musk’s xAI is running gas turbines to power its data center in Memphis, Tennessee, and emitting air pollutants there, without authorization.
• Memphis already has a major smog problem, and the county where the xAI data center is located received an “F” grade from the American Lung Association for its poor air quality.
• Musk said in July that xAI had begun training its AI models at the facility using 100,000 of Nvidia’s H100 processors.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is being accused by environmental and health advocates of adding to the pollution problem in Memphis, Tennessee, by using natural gas burning turbines at its new data center, and doing so without a permit.

The company said it was opening the data center in June in a former Electrolux factory, shortly after announcing it had raised $6 billion at a $24 billion valuation. In a post on X last month, Musk boasted that xAI had begun training its AI models at the facility using 100,000 of Nvidia’s
H100 processors.

{snip}

Musk-led companies have a history of building facilities or operating high-emissions equipment without obtaining permits first. … CNBC reported earlier this month that SpaceX operated a water deluge and cooling system at its launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, repeatedly discharging industrial wastewater there without a permit, a violation of the Clean Water Act.

Musk’s tunneling venture, The Boring Co., was also fined by Texas environmental regulators for a similar issue — discharging wastewater into the Colorado River in Bastrop, Texas, without applying for permits or installing appropriate pollution controls.

Tesla was cited by a California air pollution regulator in 2021 for installing and modifying paint shop equipment that emitted hazardous air pollutants, without a permit and reviews as required by the Clean Air Act.

{snip}