xAI Operating Unpermitted Gas Turbines
xAI is running 59 unpermitted gas turbines, twice the amount they have publicly admitted.
July 14, 2026 – 1:00 pm
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Emails between regulators and xAI’s consultants reveal most of these turbines are located in Southaven, Mississippi. Within five miles on the Tennessee side, approximately 94% of residents are Black.
Ervin Laws, a resident of Colonial Hills, a neighborhood in Southaven, describes the constant noise from the turbines as similar to that of jet engines. He expressed his frustration to Reuters, stating: "I can’t do anything about it, because he’s got more money than me."
Correspondence between regulators and xAI’s representatives confirms 59 turbines, none holding a federal clean air permit. This figure, disclosed on Tuesday, is significantly higher than the company’s previous acknowledgment of 27 unpermitted turbines.
The geographical discrepancy is significant. The data center supporting Grok and xAI’s other systems, Colossus 2, is located in Memphis, Tennessee. However, at least 57 of the powering turbines are situated in Southaven, Mississippi—a few minutes over the state line from Tennessee residents who have no standing in the permitting process. An additional two were installed at an unspecified site.
Mississippi regulators issued a permit in March for 41 permanent gas turbines at this location, three weeks after the sole public hearing on the project. The 59 currently operating unpermitted turbines are separate from these.
Reuters calculated potential emissions from 32 of these 59 turbines in Southaven alone, assuming continuous operation at 80% capacity: nearly 2,500 short tons of nitrogen oxides, 4,000 short tons of carbon monoxide, and 22 tons of formaldehyde per year. These figures are based on manufacturer emissions profiles obtained through a public records request.
These potential emissions would place the facility among the top 25 highest nitrogen oxide emitters of any US gas plant according to EPA data.
The demographic makeup around the site is notable. Within five miles of the turbines in DeSoto County, Mississippi, approximately 46% of residents are Black, compared to 33% countywide. Across the state line in Shelby County, Tennessee, this figure rises to about 94%, against 52% for the county. In 27 out of 28 census tracts within this radius, estimated asthma rates exceed their respective county averages, and in 24, the same is true for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Both counties have previously failed federal ozone standards.
xAI did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.