Thermal Drone Footage Exposes xAI's Unpermitted Gas Turbine Operations
Recent thermal drone imagery captured in late January and analyzed by multiple experts reveals that 15 out of 27 unpermitted gas turbines are actively operating at xAI's facility in Southaven, Mississippi. This visual evidence confirms that Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company continues to power its datacenters with unauthorized equipment, directly flouting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clean air regulations.
EPA Regulations Versus State Interpretation
The EPA has consistently maintained that such pollution sources require state permits under the Clean Air Act, a position reiterated in a January final ruling. The agency warned that any exemption for these turbines could leave them subject to no emission standards whatsoever. However, Mississippi state regulators argue that because the turbines are mounted on tractor trailers, they qualify as portable units and thus do not need permits under state law.
"That is a violation of the law," stated Bruce Buckheit, former EPA air enforcement chief, after reviewing the imagery. "You're supposed to get permission first." Despite the EPA's clear directive, thermal images show more than a dozen turbines spewing pollutants nearly two weeks after the ruling.
Health Impacts and Community Concerns
The turbines at the Southaven facility power Grok, xAI's controversial chatbot, while emitting harmful pollutants linked to serious health conditions including asthma, lung cancer, and heart attacks. "The risk of living next to this type of power plant is well documented," said Shaolei Ren, a UC Riverside associate professor specializing in datacenter health impacts. "From the health perspective, we know that this is not good."
Local residents have expressed alarm for months about noise and pollution from the 114-acre site, which is largely hidden from public view. "For them to be releasing so much pollution in such a populated area, not to mention that there are at least 10 schools within a two-mile radius of the facility, is really concerning," said longtime resident Shannon Samsa. "It's horrifying to me that we're allowing this in our community."
Expanding Footprint and Regulatory Challenges
The Southaven turbine cluster represents part of xAI's rapid expansion along the Tennessee-Mississippi border. This growth began in spring 2024 in South Memphis with Colossus 1, touted as the world's largest AI supercomputer, located near historically Black neighborhoods that often bear disproportionate pollution burdens. The Southern Environmental Law Center released thermal images in April showing xAI operating over 30 unpermitted turbines at that site.
"We were hopeful that the health department would step in," said Patrick Anderson, senior attorney at SELC. "That never happened." County officials in Tennessee initially maintained the turbines didn't require permits, though they eventually permitted 15 turbines at Colossus 1 in July amid local pushback.
By the time the EPA reiterated its permitting policy on January 15, xAI had already built Colossus 2, parking 27 turbines across the state line in Southaven—a diverse Memphis suburb with higher-than-average air pollution levels.
Regulatory Inaction and Enforcement Questions
Public records obtained by Floodlight show 18 of the 27 turbines have been used since November at minimum. "One might easily have expected, since this has been going on for some months, at least a stop-work order [from the EPA]," said Buckheit, who served during Republican administrations. He noted the EPA could refer the case to the Department of Justice, adding, "But apparently that didn't happen."
An EPA spokesperson declined to answer specific enforcement questions, stating instead that permitting authority lies with state or local agencies. However, EPA policy holds that the agency "generally will take enforcement action" if state governments fail to comply with federal regulations.
"xAI violated the Clean Air Act the first time, and now they're gonna copy and paste and do it again," said Anderson. "I maybe had some naive hope that the regulators who are most in the day-to-day business of implementing the Clean Air Act in Mississippi would do the right thing."
Community Impact and Resident Displacement
Longtime resident Krystal Polk discovered xAI's presence only when black fences appeared across from her family home. "I do feel like xAI is playing by a different set of rules," she said. The area, once quiet and serene with abundant wildlife, now suffers constant noise and pollution.
Polk, who has asthma, was forced to vacate her generational family home and cancel retirement plans there due to health concerns. "We are a casualty of the whole datacenter race," she lamented. "I feel that my voice doesn't matter."
A Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson stated that while turbines are considered exempt from permitting as portable units, all "applicable air quality standards still apply."
AI's Growing Fossil Fuel Dependence
Despite industry sustainability pledges, datacenters nationwide increasingly rely on fossil fuels to power the AI boom, often using custom-built plants like Southaven's. Approximately 75% of this power comes from natural gas, according to a Cleanview report tracking clean energy and datacenter projects.
"Nearly every project we reviewed mentions renewables, hydrogen, or nuclear in its public announcements," the report author noted, but renewable implementations aren't scheduled until 2028 or later, with nuclear "a decade away."
Now xAI seeks to expand further in Southaven, applying in January for a permit to operate 41 turbines at the site. The facility could emit over 6 million tons of greenhouse gases and more than 1,300 tons of health-harming pollutants annually, making it among Mississippi's largest fossil fuel plants. The company has also purchased property for a third datacenter that would make the Colossus cluster one of the world's largest datacenter complexes.
"It would be devastating," said Samsa, who has collected over 1,000 signatures petitioning Mississippi authorities to shut down the plant. "No community in their right mind would want something like this in their back yards." A physician's assistant, Samsa and her husband are reconsidering raising a family in Southaven due to pollution concerns. "I don't want my children to be growing up around such massive amounts of air pollution," she said. "I don't want them to have to live in a place where their health and their overall wellbeing is not considered over economics."
The first and only public hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday, February 17, with the public comment period remaining open as regulators struggle to keep pace with the industry's rapid expansion and its public health consequences.
