xAI’s gas-powered turbines continue to raise concerns, as satellite images and emails show that 57 turbines are now installed at the plant’s Southaven site at 2875 Stanton Road. The information comes months after the company was notified by environmental groups about its violations of the Clean Air Act.
In May, emails from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) showed that xAI had 46 gas turbines at the location, with 19 having been being added after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) asked a court to stop operations of the plant.
The request came after the NAACP sued xAI and MZX tech in April for its methane gast turbine operations in Southaven, following a 60-day notice of intent to sue.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) said it was notified that the facility had 46 turbines on May 6, with the number increasing to 57 on May 15.
“Trinity Consultants sent a new list of turbines at the site – now totaling 57 — which indicated that the May 6 disclosure was outdated the moment it was sent,” court documents said.
Evidence provided to the courts showed emails between Shannon Lynn, principal consultant at Trinity Consultants, and Jaricus Whitlock, air division chief of MDEQ, confirmed the additional turbines with a list of their emission profiles.
The NAACP, which is represented by the SELC and Earthjustice filed a motion on June 10 for the findings to be added to its suit.
“The Colossus Gas Plant is even more colossal now than it was when Plaintiffs filed their motion for preliminary injunction,” court documents said. “In a matter of weeks, Defendants xAI Corp and MZX Tech LLC began construction on 24 more combustion turbines at their Southaven, Mississippi site, materially increasing the pollution faced by the area’s frontline and Black community members including NAACP and NAACP MS members.
According to SELC, these turbines will allow the plant to increase its emittance of smog-forming nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and formaldehyde.
“xAI’s race to add more turbines to its illegal power plant creates even more health risks for communities in Memphis and North Mississippi,” SELC said in a statement.
The company continues to face legal action as Southaven residents sued the company regarding noise complaints. On June 8, members of that community filed a complaint against xAI, SpaceX, and MZX tech for “alleged excessive noise” from the plant powering Colossus 1 and Colossus 2.
The lawsuit cited the turbines as the cause for noise which they said was “a combination of high-pitched squealing, continuous engine roaring, low-frequence rumbling, and tonal humming or whining.”
Residents called the nose “pervasive and inescapable” with one resident experiencing sleep loss, headaches, and persistent ringing in the ears.
