Artificial intelligence startup xAI, founded by Elon Musk, told city and county planners in Memphis last week that it plans to build a solar farm next to its Colossus data center — one of the world’s largest facilities for training AI models.
The project would occupy 88 acres west and south of the data center. A 136-acre vacant lot owned by the developer, which also owns the Colossus property, currently borders the site. Given its proposed size, the solar farm would likely generate about 30 megawatts of electricity, only about 10% of the data center’s power estimated power usage.
Musk’s company has come under fire for operating more than 400 megawatts of natural gas turbines without permits, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). The legal group, which works with the NAACP, says xAI has operated at least 35 turbines capable of emitting more than 2,000 tons of NOX pollution — nitrogen oxide emissions that contribute to smog and respiratory problems — annually.
The wind turbines drew a backlash from residents in nearby Boxtown, a predominantly black community where researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that peak levels of nitrogen dioxide concentration increased by 79% in areas immediately surrounding the data center after xAI goes live. Community activists have reported increased asthma attacks and respiratory problems since the facility opened.
The AI company said it plans to use the turbines until it can secure additional power, but local officials have given xAI permission to function 15 turbines by January 2027.
In September, xAI said it would build one 100 megawatt solar park nearby, which will be combined with 100 megawatt grid-scale batteries to provide 24/7 electricity.
The company has not disclosed the total cost of this project, but the developer of the solar park, Seven States Power Corporation, won $439 million from the US Department of Agriculture. Of this, $414 million is an interest-free loan.
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The federal award is notable given that many clean energy grants and loans have been canceled by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy under the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, xAI added gas turbines in Mississippi to power the Colossus 2 data center. So far, 59 of them are on siteand the company considers 18 of them temporary, meaning regulators don’t monitor their pollution.
