XAI’s supercomputer in Memphis faces pushback from local leaders and environmental groups of concern about air pollution despite its promise of economic growth.
Xai’s Memphis system was touted as the world’s largest supercomputer. It has given rise to resistance from NAACP, Sierra Club and Mississippi Democratic Party’s chairman Cheikh Taylor.
State representative Taylor recently spoke at a press conference in the Church Southaven and argued that the XAI plant in Memphis, Tennessee, would disproportionately harm black residents of North Mississippi.
“In the state of Mississippi, the goal is to separate Republicans and Democrats on race alone. So if you are a Democrat in this state, you probably look like me,” Taylor said.
He also criticized the prioritization of financial gains rather than environmental health and asked, “Can you trust Elon Musk to tell the truth?”
Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson repeated these concerns and connected the opposition to a wider fight against pollution. “The cut money Xai has dangled in front of our short-term leaders is not worth the cost of breathing dirty and in some cases-the most important air,” Pearson said.
These local managers and environmental groups call on local authorities and the environmental protection agency to refuse XAI’s air permit uses for 45 to 90 metangasturbines in Memphis and the Southaven areas.
Xai has not directly dealt with the criticism, but has taken steps to run his Colossus supercomputer sustainably. Last month, Greater Memphis Chamber announced that Tesla Megapack batteries would stabilize the power of the plant, with a new 150-megawatt electric substation that completed its first construction phase.
“The temporary natural gast turbines used to operate phase in GPUs before lattice connection are now demobilized and removed from the site for the next two months,” the chamber split.
Another 160+ megapacks were delivered to Xai’s Memphis system for the Colossus 2 data center within the same month.
The XAI plant was announced in June 2024 and was hailed by Greater Memphis Chamber CEO Ted Townsend as the largest capital investment from a new-to-market company in Memphis History. Despite its financial promise, environmental problems continue to accelerate the opposition and highlight tensions between technological innovation and social health in the deep South’s new AI hub.