MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – As Mayor Paul Young sings the praises of the xAI supercomputer expansion in Memphis, environmental activists are sounding the alarm.
“The problem is that Elon Musk is asking for this to be done at an extraordinarily rapid rate with very little commitment to citizens and community engagement,” Stephen Smith, Executive Director of The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, told Action News 5.
This week, Smith fired off a blistering blog post calling xAI’s expansion of the Colossus supercomputer in Southwest Memphis “a bait and switch”…“sneak move”…that “puts billionaires’ benefits above local Memphians.”
“He’s a billionaire. He’s used to getting his way. He’s used to ramming things through, and he has the resources to do it,” said Smith.
At the December 4 expansion announcement during the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Luncheon, Elon Musk’s Memphis representative, Brent Mayo, said xAI will use megapack technology to expand the Colossus supercomputer to 10-times its current size…from 100,000 GPUs…graphics processing units…to one million GPU’s by 2026.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy wrote that “amounts to 1/3 of the current peak demand of the City of Memphis” and “essentially requires a new power plant.”
MLGW issued the following statement to Action News 5:
“We look forward to learning more details about the expansion of xAI and the new companies coming to Memphis and Shelby County. MLGW is proud to have played an important role in xAI’s launch in Memphis and the potential for new economic development.
The project represents significant, additional growth and requires thorough study using a federally mandated process that examines the impact on capacity and reliability of generation, transmission and distribution. We have not received detailed plans about all the utilities necessary to support these projects. Until we do, we reserve further comments.
MLGW is proud to catalyze new growth in Memphis and Shelby County, while at the same time ensuring the reliability of services for our existing customers.”
TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks told Action News 5:
“xAI remains an MLGW customer, so much of this would be appropriate for them. We have NOT received any kind of formal request for additional electricity needs at the site. Any expansion more than 100 MW additional would require approval of the TVA board.”
Memphis Mayor Paul Young devoted his weekly newsletter to celebrating the expansion, in part saying:
“xAI’s presence in Memphis will bring revenue to our coffers. It will create job opportunities and attract talent. xAI is leaning into our city.”
Mayor Young says Colossus was built using 80% Memphis talent. He raves about the facility providing free food and fitness facilities for workers and offering $25,000 signing bonuses for employees who relocate to Shelby County, $10,000 if you move to Northern Mississippi or Eastern Arkansas.
To read Mayor Young’s full statement on the xAI expansion project, click here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/TNMEMPHIS/bulletins/3c6f769
To read the full blog post by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, click here: https://www.cleanenergy.org/blog/will-memphis-pay-a-price-for-elon-musks-xai-colossus-bait-switch/
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