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Data centers must follow clean air rules with their large generators, EPA says
- On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule requiring data-center power generators to comply with the Clean Air Act and declared xAI in violation for operating large turbines without permits.
- Developers classified trailer-mounted methane gas turbines as 'non-road engines' to avoid permits, prompting officials to review the rule in December 2024 amid hyperscale data centers' growth.
- At the Memphis site, xAI operates 12 turbines but previously ran as many as 35 while only 15 were permitted, and Solaris Energy Infrastructure said promised pollution controls were not installed.
- The rule requires large temporary gas turbines to meet federal Clean Air Act limits, making permitting a federal responsibility that could slow xAI expansion in Memphis, while environmental advocates including the NAACP said they would sue and urged local officials to act.
- Last year, Residents of Boxtown, South Memphis testified about worsening smog and health impacts, while xAI, which raised $20 billion, faces investigations and SEI’s stock rose in recent months.
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Elon Musk’s xAI faces tougher road building out data centers after EPA rule update
Elon musk and the xAI logo.Vincent Feuray | Afp | Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency closed a loophole this week that Elon Musk’s xAI had exploited to rapidly stand up its first data center in Memphis, Tennessee. Musk’s artificial intelligence startup created a kind of off-grid power plant for its Colossus facility by using a cluster of gas-burning turbines. The company was able to avoid air pollution permitting by classifying the …
Coverage Details
Total News Sources27
Leaning Left4Leaning Right0Center16Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Center
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources are Center
80% Center
L 20%
C 80%
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