Elon Musk의 xAI가 현지 구역 지정 및 토지 협상 완료에 따라 멤피스에 위치한 최대 규모 미국 AI 데이터센터 캠퍼스 콜로서스 구축을 가속화하고 있다.

After serving in the U.S. military during the Gulf War, veteran Loretta Thornton settled into a wooded home in Memphis, Tennessee. Living with post-traumatic stress disorder, she named her house “Serenity” and spent eleven peaceful years there. That tranquility ended when Elon Musk’s technology company, xAI, constructed a massive computing facility in an abandoned warehouse next door. Known as Colossus II, the site is now the largest operating data centre in the United States. Thornton reports that constant noise and industrial fumes have severely degraded her quality of life, while surging local power demand has doubled her electricity bill. “When they cranked this up, I thought I was back in Desert Storm,” Thornton said. “I thought I was stuck back in the middle of a war. That’s what it sounds like to me.” In reporting for Australia’s ABC News, journalist Bradley McLennan documented how the industrial site operates around the clock. Thornton describes a relentless hum akin to jet engines, alongside fumes from gas turbines that burn her eyes and throat. “I feel stomach-fold-up-sucker-punched, because I never thought anything like this would move in in my life,” she said.

The rapid expansion in Memphis reflects a broader national trend in which data centres are being built faster than local governments can update their regulations. With American midterm elections approaching, the issue has emerged as a major political flashpoint. President Donald Trump remains a staunch supporter of data centre investment, warning that municipalities rejecting such projects risk becoming “backward and poor.” Speaking to cryptocurrency leaders at the White House, Trump urged local authorities to welcome the developments. “If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data centre, I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous … and the taxes paid are enormous,” he said. Nevertheless, several Republican candidates are diverging from the White House’s stance and aligning with frustrated residents. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott issued a moratorium on new data centres. In Wisconsin, candidate Tom Tiffany branded his opponent “Data Centre David Crowley.” A Republican Senate campaign memo from Ohio, reported by Axios, described the facilities as an anchor around candidate Jon Husted’s neck, cautioning that electoral losses over the issue could carry nationwide consequences.

An August YouGov poll revealed that only 24 per cent of Americans believe constructing new data centres benefits the country. More than 200 U.S. jurisdictions have enacted moratoriums to slow development, and Memphis city councillors are currently considering a similar freeze. Along the Tennessee-Mississippi border, xAI operates or is constructing at least four large data centres. Residents allege that lax regulations allowed the facilities to begin operations without public notice or city council approval. Amber Sherman, who lives near xAI’s Colossus I site, attributes a respiratory illness to the facility. “Elon Musk has been here exploiting Memphis on purpose because there are no guardrails in place,” Sherman said. “I think that he sees Memphis as a sacrifice zone like a lot of people do. They see us as the path of least resistance and don’t think that Memphians are going to fight back.” KeShaun Pearson, representing Memphis Community Against Pollution, told ABC News that technology firms are capitalizing on outdated zoning laws. “xAI and Elon Musk aren’t the first perpetrators; they are just the newest ones, and they are moving at a velocity we have never seen,” Pearson said.

Water consumption has also sparked intense controversy. In 2024, Musk pledged to construct an $80 million water recycling facility capable of supplying 10 million gallons of greywater daily for cooling, thereby reducing strain on the regional aquifer. Two years later, construction remains largely stalled, with xAI pushing the expected restart date to January 2027. Sarah Houston of the advocacy group Protect Our Aquifer noted that freedom of information requests revealed one xAI data centre consumes at least 800,000 gallons of potable water daily. “Until then it is a lot of words and a lot of empty promises,” Houston said regarding the delayed recycling plant.

Environmental groups and local residents are pursuing legal action. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit alleging that xAI installed dozens of gas turbines without permits, allegedly releasing smog-forming pollutants, soot, and formaldehyde. Conversely, the City of Memphis conducted independent air quality tests near xAI facilities and found no dangerous pollutant levels. Separate class-action lawsuits concerning noise pollution, however, remain active. Mississippi resident Taylor Logsdon joined a noise-related class-action suit despite facing community criticism. “A lot of these people here, they’ve told us all, ‘Why don’t you just move?’” Logsdon said. “I can’t move. I’m a stay-at-home mum and my husband doesn’t make that much money. We bought the house at like $70,000 you can’t find that no more, there’s no way.” Meanwhile, business organizations like the Greater Memphis Chamber argue that municipal leaders should negotiate enhanced economic benefits rather than impose bans. They emphasize that tens of millions of dollars in property tax revenue are critical for a city where one-quarter of the population lives in poverty. For Thornton, challenging one of the world’s wealthiest individuals feels insurmountable. “If you start fighting with him, don’t you know you’ll be dead before it’s settled?” Thornton said. “Maybe I can help somebody else by speaking out but I know it’s not going anywhere. They’re not going to shut that down.”