Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has installed 59 natural gas turbines for its Colossus 2 data center project in Tennessee without securing federal clean air permits. The turbines, which are located in Mississippi, just over the state line from Tennessee, have the potential to emit significant amounts of pollutants, including nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde.

Pollution Concerns

The potential emissions from the turbines are far beyond the threshold that would require a federal permit, and would be released near predominantly Black communities already estimated to be suffering disproportionately high rates of lung disease. Civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center, have sued xAI to halt their operations, arguing that the turbines produce emissions subject to the federal Clean Air Act and shouldn’t be operated without permits.

The xAI turbines are among scores of off-grid power plants for data centers proposed or under construction around the country. Local authorities often fast-track approvals in just weeks or months, without the years of environmental studies and public hearings typically required for such power generation projects that connect to the grid.

Environmental Impact

The emails reviewed by Reuters included the manufacturer emissions profiles for 32 of the 59 turbines, including 30 at the Southaven site. A Reuters analysis based on that information found that those 30 turbines alone could emit nearly 2,500 short tons of nitrogen oxide, 4,000 short tons of carbon monoxide, and 22 short tons of formaldehyde annually, assuming they operate continuously at 80% of capacity.

Nitrogen oxides contribute to smog and respiratory inflammation, according to the American Lung Association. Carbon monoxide deprives the body of oxygen, and formaldehyde is a carcinogen. The xAI site’s potential emissions far exceed a Clean Air Act threshold that requires permitting for facilities capable of more than 100 short tons annually of pollutants such as nitrogen oxide.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.