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Musk's xAI scores permit for gas-burning turbines to power Grok supercomputer in Memphis

July 3, 2025
10:07 PM
4 min read
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Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup attained an official permit to power its Memphis supercomputer facility using natural gas-burning turbines.

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July 3, 2025

10:07 PM

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Elon Musk's xAI attained a permit to power its supercomputer facility in Memphis, Tennessee, using natural gas-burning turbines, according to public records d on Wednesday

The Shelby County Health Department issued the permits on July 2, despite months of tests and public hearings where local residents decried the turbines' impact on local air quality

Earlier this week, xAI raised a combined $10 billion in debt and equity, Morgan Stanley said

The Grok logo is being displayed on a smartphone with Xai visible in the background in this photo illustration on April 1, 2024

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesElon Musk's xAI attained an official permit to power its supercomputer facility in Memphis, Tennessee, using natural gas-burning turbines, according to public records d by the company on Wednesday

The Shelby County Health Department issued the permits on July 2, despite months of tests and public hearings where local residents decried the turbines' impact on local air quality

Musk's artificial intelligence startup, which now owns his social media site X, will face formal emissions limits, testing requirements and deadlines in order to keep operating 15 turbines at the facility

The permit says non-compliance with requirements could result in daily fines of up to $10,000 per violation

People who near the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis have said that after xAI fired up the turbines, they experienced poor air quality in the area and found it nearly impossible to keep windows open or exercise outdoors due to the stench

The turbines emit nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde, among other pollutants, according to spec sheets on the website of the installer, Solaris Energy Infrastructure, based in Houston

SEI itself as a "power-as-a-service vider," able to der quick deployment of portable, natural gas generators at data centers and other facilities with immediate and significant power demands

Exposure to high levels of nitrogen oxides, which are precursors to ozone formation, have been associated with higher risk of death from respiratory disease

The permit was issued a day after the local health department named Bruce Randolph interim director and health officer

It also landed as xAI faces a pending lawsuit from the NAACP, which says Musk's company has violated the Clean Air Act with its use of the turbines

The Southern Environmental Law Center, which is representing the NAACP, said in a statement to CNBC that a satellite image from July 1, showed "at least 24 turbines still at the xAI site, more than the 15 allowed by this newly published permit. " The firm previously spotted 35 turbines installed at the facility, with more than 15 operating at a time

In a statement to CNBC on Wednesday, xAI said it welcomed the decision by Shelby County, adding that, "Our onsite power generation will be equipped with state-of-the-art emissions control nology, making this facility the lowest emitting of its kind in the country. "After buying X earlier this year in a deal that xAI said valued the combined company at $80 billion, Musk's startup is seeking to build an even larger datacenter near Colossus, with SEI viding the turbines

This week the company raised a combined $10 billion in debt and equity, according to Morgan Stanley, which led part of the financing

XAI is aiming to develop ducts that compete with Google's Gemini, Open AI's ChatGPT and other AI systems

The company's Grok chatbot, powered by the Memphis supercomputer, is integrated into X

Musk's other companies are benefitting from xAI's Memphis buildout

According to financial filings from Tesla, xAI spent "apximately $191. 0 million during 2024 and $36. 8 million through February 2025" on purchases of the company's Megapack ducts, which are giant backup batteries or battery energy storage systems

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