Messages exchanged between oversight officials and xAI advisers place most turbines in Southaven, Mississippi. On the Tennessee side within five miles, nearly 94 percent of locals are Black.

Ervin Laws resides in Colonial Hills, a Southaven neighborhood where locals describe the nonstop turbine noise as resembling jet engines.

“I can’t do anything about it, because he’s got more money than me,” he explained to Reuters, referring to Elon Musk. The turbines total 59 according to the exchanged records, and none possesses a federal clean air permit.

That number, released Tuesday, is about twice the amount the firm had previously disclosed. xAI stated in January it was using 27 unpermitted turbines for Colossus 2 and has maintained that permits are unnecessary.

The location is significant and often misunderstood. Colossus 2, the data center powering Grok and additional xAI systems, is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

At least 57 turbines sit in Southaven, Mississippi, just across the border, leaving residents in the neighboring state without any role in approval decisions. Two additional units were placed at an unknown location.

Mississippi officials granted a permit in March for 41 permanent turbines, three weeks after the sole public hearing. The 59 currently active remain separate and lack permits.

The records, secured via public information request, originated from Trinity Consultants on behalf of xAI and MZX Tech and were sent to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. They contained emissions data for 32 of the 59 turbines.

Using those details, Reuters estimated the 30 units in Southaven could release nearly 2,500 short tons of nitrogen oxides yearly, plus 4,000 short tons of carbon monoxide and 22 tons of formaldehyde, based on continuous running at 80 percent capacity, which the EPA considers standard.

These represent projected outputs derived from equipment specs rather than direct measurements, covering about half the installation. The Clean Air Act threshold for federal permits is 100 short tons annually.

Nicholas Mailloux, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, noted that emissions at this level would place the facility among the top 25 nitrogen oxide sources among US gas plants when compared to EPA records.

The surrounding demographics are striking. Within five miles in DeSoto County, Mississippi, about 46 percent of residents are Black, compared to 33 percent countywide. In Shelby County, Tennessee, the share reaches about 94 percent, versus 52 percent for the county overall.

In 27 of 28 census tracts in the area, projected asthma rates exceed county averages, and in 24 tracts the same holds for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Both counties have previously missed federal ozone limits.

xAI offered no reply to Reuters inquiries, and neither the state agency nor the EPA addressed pollution impacts on communities of color. Court documents show xAI and Mississippi claim the turbines qualify for exemption as mobile units meant for under one year of use.

MDEQ informed Reuters it “has determined that portable/temporary turbines do not require an air permit.” The EPA noted in January that temporary turbines surpassing emission limits need permits and is now considering “regulatory flexibilities” for portable equipment.

The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center, with Earthjustice, filed suit against xAI in April to stop the turbines.

“The scale of it is astonishing,” said Patrick Anderson, an SELC attorney. In June the Justice Department joined xAI’s defense, contending that restricting the turbines might endanger national security since Grok aids US military efforts, including in Iran. Southaven residents have also pursued separate legal action over the noise.

Sarah Gladney, 72, lives in Boxtown, the historic Black Memphis community near the original Colossus built in 2024. “Once they got their foot in the door in Memphis, I feel like it’s going to be a continuous movement of xAI into these other communities,” she said.

The company’s demand for gas remains clear; SpaceX’s IPO filing, now including xAI, positions it alongside Tesla’s solar operations.