A Community Takes a Data Center Colossus to Court
The NAACP and Earthjustice are suing Elon Musk’s company xAI over air pollution from an unpermitted power plant in Southaven, Mississippi.
What to know:
- The artificial intelligence company xAI is running an illegal power plant in Mississippi to power its data centers.
- Massive gas turbines are spewing pollution into communities that already suffer from poor air quality.
- Earthjustice filed suit on April 14 against xAI on behalf of the Mississippi NAACP and the national NAACP.
Rev. Robert Tipton Jr. is fighting pollution from a new kind of source: a fossil fuel power plant devoted to an AI data center.
xAI, an artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, installed 27 massive methane gas turbines in Mississippi to power an AI data center in nearby Memphis. The company fired up the turbines without federal air permits that would require effective pollution controls.
“If you get within three miles of it, you’ll see the smog in the air,” Tipton says.
When Tipton learned about the lack of safeguards and that xAi was operating its facility illegally, he understood his community needed to raise their voices and fight back.
Tipton is branch president of the NAACP in DeSoto County, Mississippi. The county includes Southaven, where xAI put the turbines across state lines from its data center, Colossus 2.
An aerial view of the site where methane gas-powered turbines operate, with more being built, in Southaven, Mississippi, to power a large xAI data center just to the north in Memphis, Tennessee. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
On April 14, the NAACP Mississippi State Conference and the national NAACP sued xAI with legal representation from Earthjustice and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
This story is becoming all too familiar to communities across America. Tech industry giants are going into small communities around the country to build data centers and infrastructure to power them. Earthjustice is ensuring that this rush to build does not undermine climate progress, pollute communities, or raise energy costs for consumers.
Tipton is concerned for the health of Southaven’s residents. Tipton himself has battled sarcoidosis, which inflames the lungs and other organs, for some 30 years. He avoids smokers and fumes to manage his illness.
Sarcoidosis “attacked my lungs, and got into my nervous system,” says Tipton. “It affects your eyes.”
The unpermitted turbines spew toxic nitrogen oxides, linked to asthma and other breathing illnesses, and formaldehyde, linked to cancer.
Thermal drone footage shows unpermitted turbines operating at xAI’s gas plant in Southaven, Miss., nearly two weeks after the EPA ruled such turbines require permits before they can run. (Evan Simon / Floodlight)
More smog from xAI could exacerbate his sarcoidosis and those living closest to the turbines are at risk.
The American Lung Association gave DeSoto County an F grade in 2025 for its poor air quality because of its high number of ozone days. Mississippi overall has one of the lowest life expectancies and the lowest ranked healthcare system in the nation. Many people in Mississippi either don’t have health care or don’t have proper health care, he says. “There’s COPD, asthma, lung conditions, people like me that have sarcoidosis — already have an illness and propensity to be sick.”
“I think they chose Southaven, Mississippi, because they see it as an easy fight,” he says. “We didn’t have an opportunity to put up a fight.”
Tipton decries the lack of community consultation before xAI fired up the turbines. Typically, when a company applies for Clean Air Act permits, a public notice and input process is required. But the company didn’t seek those permits before running the turbines. Tipton first became aware of the company’s power development in the region through a tip from a Tennessee-based advocate who had seen xAI install unpermitted turbines in a nearby Memphis community.
The unpermitted xAI turbines spew toxic nitrogen oxides, linked to asthma and other breathing illnesses, and formaldehyde, linked to cancer. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
The power plant is no small operation. At maximum capacity, xAI’s unpermitted turbines in Southaven, which supply its Colossus 2 data center, could provide enough energy for 400,000 average American homes. Only about 58,000 people live in Southaven.
Tipton said he has nothing against tech companies trying to make money. “But I do have a problem with anyone putting money ahead of good health,” he adds.
The NAACP’s lawsuit charges that xAI is violating the Clean Air Act by operating the 27 gas turbines without an air permit. The suit asks a federal court to force xAI to stop operating the unpermitted turbines, to install best available pollution controls, and to assess financial penalties for violating federal law.
He hopes the litigation will force xAI to properly protect Southaven residents from dangerous pollution.
“I want to see that there are strict guidelines put in place,” Tipton says. “And I want to see that those guidelines are followed to the T. I want the truth out.”
- Want to learn more about the impact of AI data centers? Read our explainer.
The Gulf Regional Office works with communities and other partners fighting for a healthy and just future in the Gulf. We work to cut pollution, end fossil fuel expansion, protect our region’s precious places and wildlife, transition to clean energy, and drive climate solutions that work for everyone.