EPA Closes Loophole for xAI’s Memphis Data Center, Impacting Rapid Expansion Plans
The Environmental Protection Agency has shut down a regulatory loophole that allowed xAI to bypass standard pollution permits for its Memphis data center. The facility, codenamed Colossus, had been using trailer-mounted gas turbines classified as non-road engines to avoid Clean Air Act requirements.
Local health officials initially approved the workaround, enabling xAI to power its AI training operations without environmental review or public comment. The EPA's new rule explicitly prohibits this practice, requiring full permitting for mobile turbines that exceed emissions thresholds.
The decision may slow xAI's expansion in Memphis, where it operates clusters of Nvidia GPUs for training its Grok AI systems. The company had prioritized speed in building the facility, which supports chatbot and image generation capabilities.
