Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, recently informed planners in Memphis about its plan to construct a solar farm adjacent to its Colossus data center. The Colossus facility is one of the world’s largest for training AI models. The proposed solar project would cover 88 acres to the west and south of the data center, bordering a 136-acre vacant lot owned by the same developer. Due to its size, the solar farm is expected to generate approximately 30 megawatts of electricity. This output would only meet about ten percent of the data center’s estimated power requirements.
This move comes as the company faces legal challenges. The Southern Environmental Law Center, working with the NAACP, states that xAI has been operating over 400 megawatts of natural gas turbines without the required permits. The legal organization reports that at least 35 of these turbines are capable of emitting more than 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxide pollution each year. These emissions contribute to smog and can cause respiratory problems.
The gas turbines have generated significant opposition from residents in the nearby community of Boxtown, which is predominantly Black. Researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that peak nitrogen dioxide concentration levels increased by seventy-nine percent in areas immediately surrounding the data center after xAI started operations. Community activists have reported a rise in asthma attacks and other respiratory issues since the facility opened.
xAI has stated its intention to use the turbines only until it can secure additional power. Local officials have granted the company a permit to operate 15 of these turbines through January 2027. In a separate September announcement, the company said it would build a larger 100-megawatt solar farm nearby. That project will be paired with 100 megawatts of grid-scale batteries to provide a continuous source of electricity.
The developer for that larger solar farm, Seven States Power Corporation, received a federal award of 439 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Of this total, 414 million dollars is an interest-free loan. This federal funding is notable because many other clean energy grants and loans have been canceled by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy under the current administration.
Meanwhile, xAI has also installed gas turbines in Mississippi to power its second data center, named Colossus 2. So far, 59 turbines are on-site. The company classifies 18 of them as temporary, which means regulators do not track the pollution from those units.