Musk's smog-belching Colossus datacenter slammed by civil rights group

NAACP claims that 'temporary' gas turbines were an attempt to get around environmental laws

Elon Musk's smog-belching Colossus AI datacenter in Memphis, Tennessee, is once again catching heat, this time from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which urges local authorities to halt operations and fine the startup for what it sees as a "clear" violation of the Clean Air Act.

In a letter to the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) and Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW), the NAACP argues their failure to act on xAI's ongoing use of un-permitted gas turbines to power the facility's 200,000 Nvidia GPUs was a threat to community health.

"The message that SCHD and MLGW have sent to the community is that billionaires matter more than the tax payers and residents who live there," the civil rights heavyweight wrote.

Located outside Boxtown, a historically Black neighborhood in South Memphis, the datacenter's extensive use of mobile gas turbines has drawn ire from residents and environmental groups who raised the alarm over their impact on air quality and community health.

As late as April, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) revealed that xAI had deployed 35 gas turbines to power the facility while MLGW completed work on a pair of 150 megawatt substations.

It's estimated that the nitrogen oxides (NOx) produced by these generators could cost county residents upwards of $18 million in health-related expenses, and $160 million or more for all residents within the affected smog range.

In May, the Memphis Chamber of Commerce, which has served as xAI's mouthpiece for issues regarding the Colossus datacenter, announced that xAI would remove roughly half of its "temporary" gas turbines by mid-July after work on the first MLGW substation was completed.

However, even after the second substation is completed, xAI aims to get permits for 15 turbines to supply backup power on a permanent basis.

The NAACP argues that xAI deliberately chose to deploy large numbers of mobile turbines rather than constructing one large one in order to circumvent the law and bring the facility online faster.

By using mobile generators that can be towed away when no longer needed, xAI can avoid permitting requirements so long as they're used for fewer than 365 days, Shannon Lynn, an environmental consultant hired by Musk's AI startup, explained in a webinar [Video] earlier this year.

However, the NAACP says the SCHD has yet to cite any legal justification for the exemption or why it has "punted" the issue to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The NAACP also argues that MLGW flouted state open meeting laws by not holding public hearings on the facility until after the facility was fully operational.

"It seems that the MLGW has taken the position that opening this full datacenter with gas turbines and significant water usage does not meet the requirements for a comprehensive public hearing under the Tennessee Open Meetings Act," the civil rights org wrote in the letter. "We find this position hard to believe. xAI is a business operating in Memphis that is utilizing public resources and impacting the health of all nearby."

In a statement to El Reg, MLGW said it had yet to receive any correspondence from the NAACP. "MLGW follows Tennessee law regarding open meetings. As a public utility MLGW does not hold public hearings about potential residential, commercial, or industrial customers. By law we cannot deny utilities to anyone if we have the capacity to serve," the utility said.

MLGW contends that it has been transparent regarding its role in the project, having previously held a community Q&A [Video] back in August, and posting updates to its website regularly.

The NAACP has urged local authorities, including the SCHD, to examine xAI's public health impact, track its use of turbines and other emitting equipment, issue an emergency order forcing xAI to cease operations, or cite xAI for each violation of air standards and the local implementation plan. ®