No public record shows Biden administration backing xAI in turbine lawsuit

In short: Public information so far does not show the Biden administration filing anything in court to support xAI in a Mississippi lawsuit over gas turbines.

What happened

The NAACP and the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP, represented by Earthjustice and the Southern Environmental Law Center, have sued xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech in federal court in Northern Mississippi.

The lawsuit says xAI is running 27 natural gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, without the air permit the Clean Air Act requires. The groups describe the turbines as an unpermitted power plant for a large data center tied to xAI services, including the Grok chatbot.

The plaintiffs ask the court to declare that xAI violated the Clean Air Act, order the turbines to stop operating, require pollution controls called Best Available Control Technology (meaning the best widely used equipment for cutting emissions), and impose civil penalties.

Some reporting has claimed that the administration signaled support for xAI in a court filing. But based on currently available public sources, there is no clear, publicly available court brief or formal filing from the Department of Justice, the White House, or another federal office that takes xAI’s side in this case.

Separately, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been described as saying this type of turbine needs a permit before it can run. That position would not support an argument that the turbines can operate without permits.

Why it matters

This case sits at the intersection of AI growth and local pollution concerns. Data centers can need a lot of electricity, and when companies bring in on-site generators, nearby residents may worry about air quality, especially when the equipment is close to homes and schools.

Source: NYTimes