The Colossus Data Center operated by Xai outside Memphis faces a demand to operate a fleet of natural gas turbines without permits.
“Last year, XAI has installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution in the Colossus site without ever obtaining the necessary pre -construction or operating air permits,” wrote the Center for South Environmental Law (SELC) in a letter to Lamb.
The legal group sent the letter In the name of the NaACP. It serves as a warning for the intention to sue lamb for violations of the clean air law. The law requires that organizations submit this letter 60 days in advance to file a lawsuit.
Gas turbines have the potential to issue more than 2,000 tons of nox A year, a group of chemicals that contribute to smoke.
Memphis already “had some of the worst air in the region,” says Selc. “In 2024, Memphis was considered an asthma capital of the nation by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America due to the high rates of visits and emergency deaths from asthma.”
Selc claims that lamb Failed to obtain permissions Required by both the federal and premises regulators before installing the generators. He also claims that the company did not operate them with adequate air pollution controls. At one point, lamb had enough turbines to generate 421 electricity megavatios.
Last summer, the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD), which oversees the local compliance with air pollution, “ told the journalists that lamb turbines were exempt from allowing them, although SCHD had not yet publicly disseminated what lamb operated in his place or the legal basis for this exemption, ” said SelC.
To determine what happened to Colossus site, Selc paid an aerial photographer Capture pictures of the installation in March. The photos revealed that Xai had installed 35 turbines around the perimeter of the data center at that time. The thermal images taken about a month later showed that at least 33 of them were operational, Selc said.
After taking these pictures, the Grand Memphis House, a local economic development agency, said that Xai had taken some of the turbines.
“Temporary natural gas turbines used to feed phase GPUs and before the network connection are demobilized and will be eliminated from the site for the next two months,” the Memphis Chamber he said. “About half of the operational turbines will remain” until a second substation ends the connection of the data center with the network, added the organization and, after completing the substation, the turbines would serve as security copies.
But one flight on June 15 showed that at least 26 turbines were kept, including three new ones installed since April flight. The total generation capacity was about 407 megavatios, only 14 shy megavatios of the previous amount.
“With very few exceptions, none of which are applied here, the new sources of criteria and other atmospheric pollutants in Tennessee must obtain the approval of pre -construction in the form of aerial permission, as well as a permit to operate and issue pollutants,” said SelC.
