SpaceX says xAI turbine removals near Memphis will take until July 2027

In short: SpaceX says it will not remove all of xAI’s unpermitted gas turbines near Memphis until July 2027.

What happened

SpaceX said it is transitioning power for xAI’s Colossus data centers near Memphis to a permanent 1.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant. A data center is a building filled with computers, like a warehouse of servers that needs a lot of electricity to run.

Until that new plant is ready, SpaceX said it is operating 69 natural gas turbines at the site. Gas turbines are engines that burn fuel to make electricity, similar to a jet engine used as a generator.

The company said the turbines will not be completely removed until July 2027. The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center have sued xAI over the turbines, arguing they were used without required permits. SpaceX acquired xAI in February.

SpaceX has argued it can run the turbines without permits because they are still on the trailers they arrived on. Federal rules cited by TechCrunch say permits are required based on the turbines’ size and how they are used, not what they sit on.

The turbines are located just over the Tennessee border in Mississippi. TechCrunch reports the area is among the most polluted in the U.S., and the turbines could emit more than 2,000 tons per year of NOx, a pollutant that can help form smog.

Why it matters

This affects local air quality and how quickly fast-growing AI computing sites are adding new power sources. It also highlights a bigger question for communities, regulators, and companies: when large facilities need electricity right away, who decides what is acceptable while “temporary” equipment runs for months or years?

Source: TechCrunch AI