NAACP threatens to sue Musk's xAI over Mississippi gas turbines powering data center
Source: The Hill
02/13/26 6:31 PM ET
The NAACP on Friday threatened to sue Elon Musk’s AI company xAI, claiming that gas turbines powering a company data center are polluting communities in Mississippi and Tennessee.
“Our communities are not playgrounds for corporations who are chasing profit over people. xAI’s first data center is already creating pollution for Mississippi’s neighbors in Memphis — a community already suffering from decades of disparity — and now they are polluting in Southaven, Mississippi,” NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Director Abre’ Conner said in a statement.
At issue are 27 gas turbines installed by xAI near its second data center Colossus 2 in Southaven, Miss. These turbines “emit smog-forming pollution, fine particulate matter, and hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde,” which can cause health problems including asthma, respiratory illness and certain cancers, the NAACP said.
“Together, xAI’s 27 unpermitted turbines in Southaven have the potential to emit a staggering amount of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx), likely making the facility the largest industrial source of NOx in the 11-county Memphis metropolitan area,” the organization stated. Conner said the NAACP “will not stand by idly.”
Read more: https://thehill.com/business/5738239-naacp-threatens-sue-xai/
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