The startup of artificial intelligence (AI) of Elon Musk, XAI, is allegedly operating gas turbines without proper permission in a data center in Memphis, Tennessee. Local environmental groups are reportedly pushing regulators to investigate.
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They are concerned about nitrogen oxides (NOx), smog-forming pollution that can worsen respiratory illnesses.
A company said which was opening the data center in June in a former Electrolux factory, shortly after announcing it had raised $6 billion at a $24 billion valuation. In a post on X last month, Elon Musk boasted that xAI had begun training its AI models at the facility using 100.000 Nvidia H100 processors.
The Southern Environmental Law Center sent a letter this week to the Shelby County Health Department, where Memphis is located, and a regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of several local groups, asking regulators to investigate xAI for its unpermitted use of the turbines and the pollution they create.
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The letter notes that xAI has “installed at least 18 gas combustion turbines in recent months (with more potentially on the way).”
The company has been using the turbines to power the facility, but its long-term plan is to use power from the local utility, Memphis Light, Gas and Water, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
MLGW told CNBC which began supplying 50 megawatts of power to xAI in early August. However, installing xAI requires an additional 100 megawatts. The utility installed more circuit breakers and began making improvements to the area's transmission lines to prepare for xAI's additional power consumption as well.
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“This plant requires an enormous amount of electricity,” the environmental advocates wrote in the letter.
Some of the 18 turbines are visible from the road around the property and, according to the defenders' letter, emit air pollutants called nitrogen oxides (NOx) that contribute to a long-standing haze problem in the area. Shelby County received an “F” grade from the American Lung Association for its haze.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, Even low levels of nitrogen oxides in the air can irritate a person's eyes, nose, throat and lungs, causing them to cough, be short of breath, tired and nauseated.. Breathing high levels of nitrogen oxides can cause “rapid burning, spasms, and swelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract” and other serious health problems, the agency says.
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Companies in Tennessee, USA, are typically required to obtain permits to operate the types of turbines used by xAI. The licenses would establish the permitted concentration of emissions and determineariam efficiency requirements for engines.
A permission also sendaria air quality testing to ensure that users are not polluting more than they had planned in the area due to issues such as poor engine maintenance.
The Shelby County Health Department and the EPA regional office covering Memphis did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC. Neither does xAI.
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