xAI’s plan to power its “Colossus” supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, with 15 gas turbines is drawing scrutiny from environmental advocates and local health officials. The issue centers on a pending operating permit with the Shelby County Health Department that would allow non-stop turbine use from June 2025 to June 2030.
The permit has not yet been approved. According to the health department, there is “no set timeline for approval.”
What xAI is seeking in Memphis
Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI is using gas turbines to support the power needs of its “Colossus” supercomputer. The operating permit described in the source covers 15 turbines and a five-year period, from June 2025 to June 2030.
The request matters because the turbines are not presented as a temporary or occasional backup system in the report. The permit is for non-stop turbine use, which makes the emissions question central to the public-health discussion around the facility.
The Commercial Appeal, the news outlet that obtained the documents, reported that the turbines are 20-year-old equipment. It also reported that environmental concerns have emerged because the turbines emit hazardous air pollutants, also known as HAP, including formaldehyde.
Why the emissions are under scrutiny
The most direct concern in the documents is the level of hazardous air pollutant emissions reported for the turbines. The facility’s operating permit self-reports that the turbines each emit 11.51 tons of HAP per year.
That figure is significant because the source states that the emissions exceed the EPA’s 10-ton annual cap for a single source. The source does not say that the permit has been approved, nor does it say how regulators will ultimately evaluate the application. It does show why the request has become a local health and oversight issue.
Formaldehyde is specifically named in the source as one of the hazardous air pollutants involved. The article does not provide a detailed breakdown of all emissions, so the clearest facts are the total self-reported HAP figure, the EPA cap referenced by the source, and the presence of formaldehyde among the pollutants.
The Commercial Appeal also notes that 22,000 people live within five miles of the facility. That proximity is one reason the permit question extends beyond xAI’s power needs and into the everyday concerns of nearby residents.
The transparency dispute
Another point of concern is timing. The turbines have already been running since summer 2024 without public notice or oversight, according to Eric Hilt, a spokesperson with Southern Environmental Law Center.
Hilt also said the permits do not account for those emissions. That makes the dispute about more than future turbine use; it also raises questions about what has already happened while the facility has been operating.
“It’s another example of the company not being transparent with the community or with local leaders,” Hilt tells The Commercial Appeal.
The source does not include a response from xAI to that criticism. It also does not state that the health department has reached a final decision. The current public record, as described, is a pending permit request, existing turbine operation since summer 2024, and criticism from an environmental nonprofit organization.
What the permit decision could clarify
The Shelby County Health Department’s review could clarify how the turbines will be treated under local oversight. For residents, the key questions are practical: how long the turbines may run, how emissions will be measured, and whether past emissions will be addressed in the permitting process.
Based only on the source, several facts are already clear:
- xAI plans to continue using 15 gas turbines for “Colossus” in Memphis, Tennessee.
- The permit request covers non-stop turbine use from June 2025 to June 2030.
- The turbines each self-report 11.51 tons of HAP per year.
- The source says those emissions exceed the EPA’s 10-ton annual cap for a single source.
- 22,000 people live within five miles of the facility.
- The turbines have been running since summer 2024, according to Eric Hilt.
- The Shelby County Health Department says the permits have not yet been approved and there is “no set timeline for approval.”
What remains unresolved is how local officials will respond to the permit request and the concerns raised by Southern Environmental Law Center. Until the health department makes a decision, the Colossus power setup remains a live issue for xAI, regulators, and the Memphis community around the facility.