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xAI Turbine Expansion Timeline
Comparison of turbine installation phases at the Mississippi data center.
Primary Sources
Musk's xAI is running nearly 50 gas turbines unchecked at its ...
In Brief Posted: 12:49 PM PDT · May 13, 2026 Image Credits:Brandon Dill for The Washington Post / Getty Images Elon Musk’s xAI is running nearly 50 natural gas turbines at its Mississippi data center, power plants that the state is currently not regulating thanks to a loophole. The power plants are considered “mobile” by the state of Mississippi because they are sitting on flatbed trailers, thus allowing them to dodge to air pollution regulations for one year. The NAACP, which has filed a lawsuit on behalf of residents in the area, says the unchecked emissions from the turbines is worsening air quality in an already polluted region. This week, it asked the court for an injunction against xAI. At issue is the “mobile” nature of the turbines. The Southern Environmental Law Center, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the NAACP, says the turbines are being operated in violation of federal law, which says that power plants mounted on a trailer can still be considered stationary and subject to air pollution regulations. XAI has been granted permits for 15 of its turbines. A Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce press release previously said that “about half” of the 35 turbines in operation in May 2025 would remain on site. However, xAI has continued to install more. Currently, it’s operating 46, according to a local news report. Topics Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news Latest in Climate
xAI Expands Data Center with 19 New Gas Turbines Amid Environmental ...
News May 13, 2026 · News xaicolossusdata-centergpu-clusterclean-air-act Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has added 19 natural gas turbines to its second data center campus in Southaven, Mississippi, over the past two months, according to internal emails obtained by WIRED. The expansion occurs while xAI is embroiled in a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and several environmental advocacy groups, which alleges the company is violating the Clean Air Act by operating more than two dozen turbines without appropriate air permits.Emails between the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and Trinity Consultants, obtained via public records requests by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), reveal that xAI installed 19 portable gas turbines between late March and early May. This brings the facility’s total to 46 operating turbines. A spreadsheet attached to the correspondence indicates that xAI has added over 500 megawatts of natural gas power capacity since mid-March.The expansion at the site, dubbed Colossus 2, highlights the massive energy requirements of modern AI training clusters. MDEQ spokesperson Jan Schaefer told local media that while the facility claims its portable turbines use emission-control technology, the agency is still evaluating when xAI must stop bringing additional units on-site. Legal representatives from SELC noted that eight of the 19 new turbines, representing 200 megawatts of output, were installed specifically after the lawsuit was filed in April.This pattern echoes issues at xAI’s "Colossus 1" facility in Memphis, Tennessee, which faced significant community backlash in 2024 for operating without permits in a historically Black neighborhood. Regulators in both states have currently allowed the operations under a legal loophole: because the turbines are classified as non-stationary or portable, the Clean Air Act permits them to run for up to a year without formal environmental permits.
xAI operating 46 temporary gas turbines in Mississippi without air ...
xAI, the data center company founded by Elon Musk, is operating 46 temporary "mobile" natural gas turbines at a Southaven, Mississippi, site without state air permits, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said. The company uses the turbines to power two data centers in nearby Memphis and plans another large center in Southaven, Mississippi Today reported. Because MDEQ ...
State officials evaluating unpermitted xAI turbines in Southaven
Elon Musk's data center company, xAI, has more than doubled the number of unchecked natural gas generators at its Southaven facility since coming to Mississippi last summer.
