Civil Rights Groups Criticize Mississippi Approval of xAI Power Plant
On Tuesday, 9th March, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) issued an air permit allowing Elon Musk’s xAI to operate tons of gas turbines at its facility in Southaven, Mississippi. The permit board’s decision comes weeks after community members held a hearing to share concerns about xAI’s potential health effects, according to a press statement. Internal documents from MDEQ and EPA indicate that the agency faced intense pressure to approve xAI’s air permit swiftly.
“We are outraged that, despite the community’s clear demand to move the Election Day hearing, MDEQ chose to bulldoze through a decision that silenced the very residents most harmed by it,” Abre’ Conner, Director of Environmental and Climate Justice at the NAACP, said.
“We’re extremely disappointed in MDEQ’s decision to greenlight this inadequate permit for xAI’s power plant, which fails to address the significant concerns about the impact of these added turbines will have on communities in North Mississippi as well as South Memphis,” Patrick Anderson, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, adds.
xAI’s turbines
To power its massive Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, Tennessee, xAI plans to run 41 gas turbines, which are essentially a power plant. The number of turbines would make it one of the largest fossil-fuel power plants in Mississippi and one of the area’s biggest polluters.
Last year, the NAACP and other civil rights groups filed an appeal against a permit that would allow xAI to use gas turbines to power its massive data center in Memphis. They also noted that the health department misclassified the turbines used by xAI and issued the permits inaccurately, which constitutes a violation of the Clean Air Act and specific local environmental regulations.
xAi gas turbines affecting communities in North Mississippi and Memphis
The issued permit has several flaws that violate federal law and will severely affect the health of families in North Mississippi and Memphis. Gas turbines like those used by xAI emit large amounts of smog-forming pollution and harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde.
This creates further problems for communities in North Mississippi and Memphis, who already struggle with air pollution, with both DeSoto and Shelby County receiving an ‘F’ grade from the American Lung Association for smog. xAI’s 41 turbines could make it the largest source of smog-forming pollution in the area.
The turbines would also release large amounts of fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5. This can cause serious harm as fine particulate matter travels deep into the lungs and bloodstream, increasing the risk of asthma, heart attacks, respiratory disease, strokes, and other serious health conditions.
When MDEQ was informed of the potential harm posed by the gas turbines, they incorrectly claimed that all of the company’s existing unlawful turbines had been installed with pollution controls.
Image: Houston Cofield/NBC News
