Pollution from Musk’s unpermitted xAI project is worst in Black Communities

Elon Musk's artificial-intelligence company xAI installed 59 natural-gas turbines in Tennessee for its Colossus 2 project without obtaining federal clean air permits. This was according to communication between regulators, xAI representatives and the EPA.

The potential emissions from these turbines would exceed the federal threshold for a permit and would be released in predominantly Black communities, which are already believed to have disproportionately high lung disease rates, according to an analysis based upon government data and correspondence with regulators.

The findings, which were not previously reported, show how the exploding demand for electricity from AI data centers is forcing companies to build off grid power plants in a speed that exceeds environmental oversight and poses serious risks to public safety.

xAI had previously acknowledged that there were about twice as many unpermitted wind turbines. The company had previously stated that it was operating 27 unpermitted Colossus?2 turbines as of January, and argued that permits were not needed. At least 57 out of the 59 turbines are in Mississippi. This is just across the Tennessee state line where the data centre is located.

The xAI turbines is one of many?off-grid?power plants for data 'centers that are proposed or being constructed around the country. Local authorities can approve power generation projects in a matter of weeks or months without having to go through the usual environmental studies and public meetings.

In March, Mississippi regulators issued a permit allowing the construction of 41 gas turbines. Three weeks after Mississippi's one and only public hearing, the approval was granted.

According to Ben King, a Rhodium Group analyst who reviewed the analysis, the xAI cluster in Mississippi already ranks among the largest off-grid power center projects.

He said that the amount of natural gas installed behind-the-meter in a single location was unprecedented.

Communications reviewed show xAI (now owned by billionaire Musk's SpaceX) has installed 57 turbines off-grid in Southaven in Mississippi. This is just across the state from the Colossus 2 Data Center in Memphis that supports the Grok chatbot, and other AI systems. Records show that the company also installed two additional turbines on another site, which were not permitted for the project. Could not identify the location.

These communications were obtained via a 'public records request'. They included emails sent between Trinity Consultants (representing xAI, MZX and its subsidiary MZXTech) and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

xAI has not responded to a request for comment.

xAI’s turbines are part a wider environmental justice battle about whether the AI boom adds disproportionate pollution burdens for communities of color.

In April, civil rights groups such as the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against xAI to stop their operations. They argued that the turbines produced emissions covered by the federal Clean Air Act. The NAACP also argued the turbines shouldn't have been operated without a permit. The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center sued xAI in April to stop their operations. They argued that?the turbines produce emissions subject to the federal Clean Air Act and shouldn't be operated without permits.

Patrick Anderson, attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, said that "the scale is astounding." This is a huge violation of the Clean Air Act that poses a threat to public health.

A Clean Air Act permit could have taken xAI years to obtain. Environmental regulators in Mississippi and xAI argued that the turbines were exempt from Clean Air Act regulations because they were "mobile" and meant to be operated onsite for less then a year.

The agency stated that "MDEQ has determined portable/temporary wind turbines do. not require an air permit."

In January 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that temporary turbines with emissions above thresholds would need to obtain permits. The agency said it is considering changes that would allow "regulatory flexibility" for portable units, while still protecting public health.

xAI,?MDEQ, and the EPA have not answered questions about the pollution impact on communities of color when power is generated to service data centers.

In a filing dated June 15, the U.S. Justice Department weighed-in on the lawsuit, stating that restricting the turbines might threaten national security because xAI’s systems support U.S. Military operations, including those involving Iran.

The lawsuit filed by civil rights groups may help to define the environmental laws that apply to the rapidly growing AI sector where companies are scrambling to get power supplies on line to support energy-intensive computation.

Mary Rock, senior attorney at Earthjustice, which represents the NAACP & SELC said: "This creates scenarios where the Government can create sacrifice zones & tell communities that they must breathe illegal air pollutants."

This dispute is similar to a study published in 2022 by researchers at UCLA and Columbia University. The study found that communities that were previously "redlined" - meaning that banks had historically discriminated against Black applicants for mortgages - are now exposed to high levels of pollutants due fossil fuel plants.

Lara Cushing is a UCLA professor of public health who co-authored this study.

Big EMISSIONS

The emails examined by included the emissions profiles of 32 of the turbines. This includes 30 at Southaven.

Based on this information, an analysis found that these 30 turbines could emit nearly 2,500 short tons per year of nitrogen dioxide, 4,800 short tons carbon monoxide, and 22 short tonnes of formaldehyde, assuming that they operated continuously at 80% capacity. According to the EPA gas turbines must be operated at a load of 80% to achieve maximum efficiency.

According to the American Lung Association, nitrogen oxides are responsible for smog and inflammation of the respiratory system. Carbon monoxide robs the body's oxygen and formaldehyde can be cancerous.

The xAI site is capable of emitting more than 100 short tonnes of nitrogen oxide per year, which is the Clean Air Act's threshold for requiring permits.

Shannon Samsa, a resident of Southaven, said in an exclusive interview: "This is an enormous amount of turbines causing an unfathomable level of air pollution."

She said that air pollution was bad for your health.

Nicholas Mailloux is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Wisconsin Madison who studies air pollution and the health benefits of "clean-energy transition". He claimed that the plant would have nitrogen oxide emissions on par with those of the 25 largest gas plants in the United States, citing EPA emissions data.

The people affected

Residents in the Colonial Hills area of Southaven can hear the Colossus 2 turbines all the time, and they often emit loud bursts compared to jet engines.

Ervin Laws is a Colonial Hills resident who is in his 20s. He said that the noise keeps him awake at night. He said that Musk had more money than him, so he couldn't do much about the noise.

According to a CDC analysis, the turbines were installed where communities had high respiratory disease burdens.

In 27 of 28 census blocks within five miles, spanning both Mississippi Tennessee, the estimated asthma rate was higher than the countywide figure. In 24 tracts the rates of chronic obstructive lung disease were also higher.

In environmental health research, five miles is the distance that is commonly used to identify populations at risk of exposure to air pollution.

Census Bureau data revealed that residents near the facility were disproportionately Black. The five-mile radius crosses over state borders, so compare each side to its own county baseline.

Census data shows that within five miles of the facility, in DeSoto County, Mississippi, where the turbines were located, 46% of residents, compared to 33% of countywide, are Black.

Around 94% of residents living within five miles of this facility in Tennessee are Black. This compares to only 52% of Shelby County residents.

Professor Jayajit Chakraborty of the University of California Santa Barbara said that the analysis is consistent with "research" which shows communities of color are more exposed to fossil fuel pollution.

According to regulatory documents, Shelby County and parts of DeSoto 'County also failed to meet federal ozone standard and are still subject to EPA approved plans to make sure they don't slip back into violations. Nitrogen oxide, a precursor of ozone that can be harmful to respiratory health, is a major contributor.

Victoria Nelson, a former EPA environmental engineer and independent, said: "Given that this community has high asthma rates, increased NOx exposure could exacerbate health problems in a locality which already experiences more than its fair amount of toxic air pollution."

Sarah Gladney, 72 has witnessed the rapid growth of xAI in Memphis from her home, located in the historically Black Boxtown neighborhood, just a few blocks from the Colossus 1, the company's data center, which was built in 2024.

She said, "I feel that once they get their foot in Memphis' door, it will be a continual movement of xAI in these other communities." It's about money and not the health of people who live in these communities or nearby. Reporting by Disha and Valerie Volcovici, photos by Kevin Wurm, editing by David Gaffen and Kat Stafford; Ben Lesser, Richard Valdmanis, and Ben Lesser;

(source: Reuters)