Elon Musk’s AI company just got permission to build its own power plant in Mississippi… and the neighbors aren’t happy about it.
State regulators voted Tuesday to approve a permit for xAI subsidiary MZX Tech LLC to construct a facility with 41 natural gas-burning turbines in Southaven, just across the state line from Memphis, according to CNBC. The plant will power the company’s growing network of AI data centers in the region, including its massive Colossus supercomputer operations.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality “voted to approve the permit after careful consideration of all public comments and community concerns,” spokesperson Jan Schaefer told CNBC via email.
But environmental justice advocates and residents say the approval process steamrolled community voices. They had pushed to delay Tuesday’s vote, arguing it conflicted with Mississippi’s primary elections and made it harder for residents to participate in both.
“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,” said Abre’ Conner, director of environmental and climate justice at the NAACP, in a joint statement with the Southern Environmental Law Center, according to CNBC.
State regulators say the proposal met all required environmental and technical standards during the permitting process. Jaricus Whitlock, air division chief at MDEQ, said the project satisfies both state and federal regulations.
“The proposed PSD permit in front of the board today not only meets all state and federal permitting regulations, but goes above and beyond what is required by law. MDEQ and the EPA agree that not a single person around our facilities will be exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution,” Whitlock said.
Legal battles on the horizon
Despite the permit win, the road ahead may be rocky. The NAACP and SELC have indicated they plan to sue xAI over its previous use of unpermitted turbines. Critics argue that methane-gas turbines emit pollutants such as formaldehyde and nitrogen oxides, which are linked to respiratory issues.
Patrick Anderson, a senior attorney at SELC, suggested that regulators are prioritizing Musk’s “business ambitions” over local health:
“Mississippi state regulators appear to be more interested in fast-tracking xAI’s personal power plant than conducting a thorough review of its impacts and having meaningful engagement with the families that will be forced to live with this dirty facility — and its pollution — in their communities.”
The Memphis-area buildout is central to xAI’s ambitions as it operates under the SpaceX umbrella following a merger announced in February, with SpaceX valued at $1.25 trillion. Training and running large AI models requires staggering amounts of compute and electricity, and the Colossus facilities represent the core of that infrastructure.
Also read: AI data centers are increasingly turning to gas engines as developers race to secure power.
