The Environmental Protection Agency ruled on Thursday that Elon Musk’s xAI has been illegally operating dozens of natural gas turbines to power its Colossus data centers in Tennessee. The AI company had argued the turbines were exempt from regulations because they were being used on a temporary basis. The EPA disagreed and issued its final rule on the matter, declaring xAI was in violation. This rule had been in development for over a year.
The power plants drew criticism from local communities and legal organizations. The company was facing a lawsuit for contributing more ozone and particulate emissions in an already polluted region. xAI was operating as many as 35 turbines, but only 15 were ultimately permitted. Today, the company has 12 turbines providing power to its data centers there.