Elon Musk’s A.I. Company Faces Lawsuit Over Gas-Burning Turbines – The New York Times
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The company, xAI, has installed several dozen turbines in Memphis without proper permits, the group said, polluting a nearby community.
Hiroko Tabuchi
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, which runs the Grok chatbot, is facing a legal challenge led by the NAACP over air pollution from its supercomputer facility in Memphis.
xAI’s South Memphis data center, near predominantly Black neighborhoods, has been operating natural-gas-burning turbines without the proper permits, the NAACP alleged in a notice of an intent to sue filed on Tuesday. Those turbines were sending noxious emissions toward local homes, said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP.
“We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice, where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits and think they’ll get away with it,” he said.
In a statement, xAI said that it took its environmental commitments seriously, as well as its responsibility to the local community. “The temporary power generation units are operating in compliance with all applicable laws,” the company statement said.
The data center, part of Mr. Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence business, began running last year in a former manufacturing plant. It houses a supercomputer that Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, has said would be the world’s largest supercomputer.
Before beginning operations, the company rolled in flatbed trucks loaded with gas-powered turbines to help meet its electricity needs, which rival those of 100,000 homes. The Southern Environmental Law Center, a legal nonprofit organization that is representing the NAACP, said aerial images from March showed 35 gas turbines at the site, and that the turbines were emitting significant amounts of heat.
Local officials had suggested that an exemption allowed xAI to temporarily operate the turbines without permits. The Southern Environmental Law Center alleged that there is no such exemption.
Pollution from gas turbines can form smog and contains hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene, linked to asthma, respiratory diseases and other health problems.
KeShaun Pearson, director of the Memphis Community Against Pollution, a group that has led the local opposition to the data center, said xAI was bringing pollution to predominantly Black communities disproportionately burdened with emissions from an oil refinery, a steel mill and chemical plants.
The Southern Environmental Law Center pointed to studies showing that Boxtown, a neighborhood founded by freed slaves in the 1860s that is closest to the xAI data center, faces a cancer risk four times the national average.
“It’s environmental racism,” Mr. Pearson said. “They came and built what’s essentially a power plant in less than 12 months, with no oversight and no approval.”
xAI has said it intends to equip the turbines with technology to reduce emissions and has said the project is boosting the local economy by paying taxes and creating jobs. NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center have said that regulations required xAI to obtain local and federal permits before operating its gas turbines.
The 60-day notice of an intent to sue is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act, which regulates air pollution. The suit would challenge xAI and its permit application, which is now under consideration by Shelby County.
Mr. Musk started xAI as a competitor to ChatGPT, the chatbot powered by OpenAI. Mr. Musk helped found OpenAI, then left in 2018 after disagreements with other co-founders.
xAI’s move into Memphis reflects the intensifying race by technology companies to bring more data centers online. The tech industry is leading a surge in electricity demand that is making it more difficult for communities and electric utilities to meet their goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, because fossil fuels are being burned to generate electricity.
Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson, who represents nearby neighborhoods and who previously fought plans to build an oil pipeline through the area, said Mr. Musk in particular should be committed to using cleaner energy. “Didn’t he build his whole career on battery storage and electric vehicles?” Mr. Pearson said.
He urged Mr. Musk to “shut the turbines down, get the permits, and use clean energy.”
Hiroko Tabuchi covers pollution and the environment for The Times. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years in Tokyo and New York.
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This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
Supported by
The company, xAI, has installed several dozen turbines in Memphis without proper permits, the group said, polluting a nearby community.
Hiroko Tabuchi
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, which runs the Grok chatbot, is facing a legal challenge led by the NAACP over air pollution from its supercomputer facility in Memphis.
xAI’s South Memphis data center, near predominantly Black neighborhoods, has been operating natural-gas-burning turbines without the proper permits, the NAACP alleged in a notice of an intent to sue filed on Tuesday. Those turbines were sending noxious emissions toward local homes, said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP.
“We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice, where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits and think they’ll get away with it,” he said.
In a statement, xAI said that it took its environmental commitments seriously, as well as its responsibility to the local community. “The temporary power generation units are operating in compliance with all applicable laws,” the company statement said.
The data center, part of Mr. Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence business, began running last year in a former manufacturing plant. It houses a supercomputer that Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, has said would be the world’s largest supercomputer.
Before beginning operations, the company rolled in flatbed trucks loaded with gas-powered turbines to help meet its electricity needs, which rival those of 100,000 homes. The Southern Environmental Law Center, a legal nonprofit organization that is representing the NAACP, said aerial images from March showed 35 gas turbines at the site, and that the turbines were emitting significant amounts of heat.
Local officials had suggested that an exemption allowed xAI to temporarily operate the turbines without permits. The Southern Environmental Law Center alleged that there is no such exemption.
Pollution from gas turbines can form smog and contains hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene, linked to asthma, respiratory diseases and other health problems.
KeShaun Pearson, director of the Memphis Community Against Pollution, a group that has led the local opposition to the data center, said xAI was bringing pollution to predominantly Black communities disproportionately burdened with emissions from an oil refinery, a steel mill and chemical plants.
The Southern Environmental Law Center pointed to studies showing that Boxtown, a neighborhood founded by freed slaves in the 1860s that is closest to the xAI data center, faces a cancer risk four times the national average.
“It’s environmental racism,” Mr. Pearson said. “They came and built what’s essentially a power plant in less than 12 months, with no oversight and no approval.”
xAI has said it intends to equip the turbines with technology to reduce emissions and has said the project is boosting the local economy by paying taxes and creating jobs. NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center have said that regulations required xAI to obtain local and federal permits before operating its gas turbines.
The 60-day notice of an intent to sue is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act, which regulates air pollution. The suit would challenge xAI and its permit application, which is now under consideration by Shelby County.
Mr. Musk started xAI as a competitor to ChatGPT, the chatbot powered by OpenAI. Mr. Musk helped found OpenAI, then left in 2018 after disagreements with other co-founders.
xAI’s move into Memphis reflects the intensifying race by technology companies to bring more data centers online. The tech industry is leading a surge in electricity demand that is making it more difficult for communities and electric utilities to meet their goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, because fossil fuels are being burned to generate electricity.
Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson, who represents nearby neighborhoods and who previously fought plans to build an oil pipeline through the area, said Mr. Musk in particular should be committed to using cleaner energy. “Didn’t he build his whole career on battery storage and electric vehicles?” Mr. Pearson said.
He urged Mr. Musk to “shut the turbines down, get the permits, and use clean energy.”
Hiroko Tabuchi covers pollution and the environment for The Times. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years in Tokyo and New York.
Killing Green Jobs: In Cedartown, Ga., a solar recycling company’s plan to hire 1,200 people could be upended by Republicans in Congress with little political fallout.
Marine Heat Waves: Unusual heat waves have occurred in all of the major ocean basins around the planet in recent years. Hotter oceans are causing drastic changes to marine life, sea levels and weather patterns.
A ‘Thirstier’ Atmosphere: A new study found that higher temperatures have driven atmospheric thirst, or how much water on the surface of earth is removed through evaporation, over the last four decades. It has made droughts more frequent, more intense and has caused them to cover larger areas.
No Limits on Emissions: The Environmental Protection Agency has drafted a plan to eliminate all limits on greenhouse gases from power plants, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.
Weather Forecasting and A.I.: A Microsoft A.I. model can make accurate 10-day forecasts quickly, an analysis found. And, it’s designed to predict more than weather.
Clean Energy Is All About the Money: The Inflation Reduction Act was once hailed as the biggest climate law in U.S. history. But as supporters try to save it, they’ve stopped talking about the environment altogether.
Ask NYT Climate: Which cooking oil should I use? When it comes to climate and the environment, some oils are a cut above. Here’s what to know.
Climate F.A.Q.: Do you have questions about climate change? We’ve got answers.
Advertisement
source
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
