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Elon Musk’s xAI has gotten itself in hot water over its use of polluting generators at its data center near Memphis, Tennessee. Now it wants to buy even more of them.
In SpaceX’s IPO filing, released Wednesday, the company said its xAI division will buy another $2.8 billion worth of turbines for its AI infrastructure over the next three years. One deal, worth $2 billion, is specifically for “mobile gas turbines,” the kind that it’s currently being sued over.
The NAACP filed a lawsuit against xAI last month for operating dozens of unregulated gas turbines that worsen the air quality in one of the most polluted parts of the country. The organization has sought an injunction against xAI’s use of the turbines. So far, xAI has been granted permits for 15 turbines. As of a few weeks ago, it was using 46.
Each of the types of turbines xAI is operating have the potential to emit more than 2,000 tons of NOx pollution annually, a group of chemicals that contributes to asthma-inducing smog.
The company claims that it can operate the turbines for up to a year without permits because they are “mobile” — that is, they’re still on the trailer they were shipped on. The company appears to be exploiting a discrepancy between state and federal interpretations. Mississippi claims it doesn’t need to permit mobile generators.
But federal regulations say that turbines of that size, even if they’re on a trailer, are still subject to air-pollution regulations. The EPA ruled earlier this year that xAI was operating the turbines in violation of federal law.
SpaceX acknowledges the risks in its IPO filing. “We currently rely significantly on natural gas and gas turbine technology to power our data center operations,” it wrote. Injunctions or rescinded permits “would adversely affect our AI business.”
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Senior Reporter, Climate
Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor.
De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. He received his PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA degree in environmental studies, English, and biology from St. Olaf College.
You can contact or verify outreach from Tim by emailing tim.dechant@techcrunch.com.