The Shelby County Health Department has received a letter requesting that they investigate the gas turbines that contribute to Class F air quality in Memphis.
Elon Musk’s xAI requires a lot of electricity to operate and it seems that the artificial intelligence startup is using gas turbines to meet the demand. According to the environmental groups, these gas turbines are operating without permits and are contributing to the poor air quality in Memphis.
CNBC reported on August 28, 2024, that the Southern Environmental Law Center sent a letter to the Shelby County Health Department asking regulators to investigate xAI for using unapproved gas turbines in its data center.
The agency accuses Musk’s xAI of exacerbating the pollution problem in Memphis, whose air quality is already in Category F. The letter says the artificial intelligence company has installed “at least 18 gas-burning turbines” and may have more in the pipeline.
The letter goes on to say that the gas turbines are emitting nitrogen oxides that are worsening air quality in Shelby County. Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Tennessee, told CNBC, “The biggest concern remains that there has been very little transparency and opportunity for public participation in the xAI project.”
According to the agency, the turbines can emit 130 tons of nitrogen oxide annually. The power of these turbines is also enough to power around 50,000 homes. Instead, xAI uses this energy to power its AI models, which use 100,000 Nvidia H100 processors.
Unfortunately, it seems like the Shelby County Health Department can’t do much about these turbines. The CNBC post ends by noting that the EPA regulates companies that use gas turbines and can step in once the turbines are stationary and have been in the same location for a year. Because these turbines are mobile and have been there for less than a year, the Shelby County Health Department doesn’t have the “current permitting authority.”
Recently, Musk reportedly diverted a shipment of Nvidia AI chips from Tesla to xAI. This alleged move caused a delay in the delivery of $500 million worth of AI chips to Tesla, CNBC reported. According to Musk, the chips were “just sitting in a warehouse.” Keep an eye on our xAI page for the latest information on Musk’s new project.
