MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – The Greater Memphis Chamber is countering claims that xAI’s controversial gas turbines are moving from one Memphis data center to another despite a previous announcement that they would be used solely for backup at the former Electrolux site by the fall.
The Greater Memphis Chamber, which oversees communications on behalf of Elon Musk’s Colossus data center in the Bluff City, announced earlier this week that xAI is moving away from the undisclosed number of temporary methane-powered turbines currently powering the new supercomputer facility.
Chamber leaders said that xAI is actively working to remove half of the operating turbines over the next two months, now that the facility can pull power from a newly-constructed electronic substation.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) agreed to supply 150 megawatts of electric power to the location on Riverport Road in November.
The Greater Memphis Chamber said the remaining turbines will stay in operation until a second substation is completed and attached to the electric grid by the fall.
Then, those remaining turbines would be relegated to a backup power role.
However, on Thursday, the Southern Environmental Law Center published documents that reportedly show that xAI is, in actuality, planning to install up to 2.5 times more turbines than what are currently stationed at Colossus—but not at the former Electrolux site.
SELC says that those consulting firm records show that between 40 and 90 turbines are planned for the one-million-square-foot expanded property on Tulane Road that xAI bought from the City of Memphis in March.
Predominantly Black communities in South Memphis are already overburdened with industrial pollution and face a cancer risk four times the national average. The area is home to dozens of industrial facilities including an oil refinery, a steel mill, and a TVA gas plant. The area also struggles with poor air quality. Shelby County is not meeting national limits for ozone—better known as smog—and last month, the county once again received an ‘F’ for ozone pollution from the American Lung Association.
However, the Greater Memphis Chamber says this is untrue.
“xAI is demobilizing turbines in Shelby County and has no plans to site any turbines at its Tulane location. The company continues to evaluate various power solutions for its Memphis facilities while working within all applicable regulatory frameworks,” the chamber said in a release Thursday.
SELC has questioned xAI’s transparency before, and it was recently said that xAI is currently using at least 33 turbines at the Colossus center, despite the fact that xAI only submitted permits to run 15 and that those permits have not yet been approved.
xAI’s second data center is located roughly half a mile from residences and a school.
Community members, alongside local and regional environmental groups, have repeatedly expressed concerns and doubts about xAI’s potential to pollute the city’s air and overload the electrical grid.
However, the Greater Memphis Chamber says xAI is committed to Memphis through its sustainable environmental practices.
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