Overview

• The Shelby County Health Department granted xAI an air permit for 15 Solar SMT-130 gas turbines at its Memphis data center, authorizing up to 247 megawatts of power generation through 2027.
• Permit conditions include strict limits on nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter and hazardous air pollutants; mandatory semiannual reporting; caps on annual turbine startups and shutdowns; requirements to maintain five years of monitoring records.
• xAI said the turbines will feature state-of-the-art emissions control technology to make the facility the lowest emitting installation of its kind in the country.
• The NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center have filed notices of intent to sue under the Clean Air Act; local activist groups plan appeals to contest the permit decision.
• Industry reliance on mobile gas generators to power AI supercomputers intensifies environmental justice scrutiny in predominantly Black neighborhoods such as Boxtown.