Musk's AI infrastructure encountered latest setback, xAI Mississippi power plant protested by environmental group.

Elon Musk's xAI company (now acquired by SpaceX) is facing a new legal challenge from environmental organizations in Mississippi. The company plans to build a large methane gas power plant in South Haven. Non-profit organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Young, Gifted & Green, and the Safe and Sound Coalition are demanding that Mississippi revoke the permit issued to xAI by the state's environmental regulatory agency last month for the construction of the power plant. Members of these organizations reside near the operating area of xAI. Lawyers for these organizations stated in a petition submitted to the state government on Thursday that the power plant will "exacerbate ongoing ozone pollution in the area" and lead to a "significant increase in pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and related fine particulate matter", thereby damaging air quality and threatening the health of residents. On March 10, Musk's company obtained a permit from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to permanently install 41 natural gas turbine generators in DeSoto County, Mississippi to power its nearby data center. xAI currently operates a data center called Colossus 2 in Memphis, Tennessee, on the other side of the state border, and is constructing a new facility called Macrohardrrr in South Haven. As the richest person in the world, Musk hopes that the Memphis area will become a core for xAI's development, aiming to compete in the booming AI market with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. SpaceX acquired xAI in February of this year, and after the completion of the transaction, the combined company was valued at 1.25 trillion dollars, with a record-breaking IPO expected in the coming months. Communities across the United States are increasingly concerned about the financial and environmental risks posed by the energy infrastructure required to support artificial intelligence models and their applications and services. Opposition groups represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center believe that xAI, through its local subsidiary MZX Tech LLC, and state regulators did not use accurate pollution assessment data when considering the construction of the power plant. They also claim that xAI did not need to use the cleanest turbines or purchase environmental offsets, local stakeholders were excluded from key meetings, and government emails show that regulators rushed the approval process under pressure from xAI. The permit obtained by xAI is called a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit a federal air quality standard applicable to major polluters such as large utility power plants. Such permits typically require years of communication between the EPA, state regulators, and the public before issuance. The MDEQ informed the media on Friday via email that they have received the groups' "evidence hearing request regarding the permit", and xAI will have the opportunity to participate in the process as a party.