Large technology companies are building proprietary gas-fired power plants adjacent to AI data centers, with government support for this model.
Elon Musk's xAI stands accused of operating dozens of gas turbines without permits at its Southaven data center. More troubling still, the Department of Justice now argues these turbines should continue running because Grok serves national security work.
A power struggle is unfolding across the United States—this time literally. xAI needs sufficient electricity to power Colossus 2, its AI data center located in Southaven, Mississippi. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) contends that the company and its subsidiary MZX Tech have been operating methane gas turbines there without securing the Clean Air Act permits required for standard industrial projects.
The litigation began with 27 turbines. According to Wired, emails obtained by the Southern Environmental Law Center reveal that by mid-May, the number of unpermitted turbines running at the Colossus 2 location had grown to 57. This is not merely a paperwork issue. The Southern Environmental Law Center reports that this expansion resulted in a 111 percent increase in nitrogen oxide emissions, an 83 percent increase in fine particulate matter emissions, and an 88 percent increase in formaldehyde emissions compared to April baselines. You need not be an environmental lawyer to grasp the story's essence: build first, address later.
Southaven, located south of Memphis and adjacent to the Tennessee border, has already seen xAI's first Colossus site provoke resident protests. Residents worry about asthma and smog pollution, as well as the fact that no one consulted them before a massive AI facility moved into the neighborhood. According to the Associated Press, the Mississippi facility sits near residences, schools, and churches. This detail matters more than any press release about strategic computing. Pollution does not remain confined to facility boundaries.
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The Department of Justice under the Trump administration moved this week to intervene and dismiss the NAACP's lawsuit. Its argument is unambiguous. The government states that the data center is necessary for AI work critical to the economy and military, and cutting power to the turbines would threaten national, economic, and energy security.
According to Wired, a statement from Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon's chief digital and AI officer, indicates that Grok is one of only four AI models capable of supporting mission-critical operations on classified networks. The filing also states that a government version of Grok supports national security missions. This is a serious claim and explains why Washington would intervene in what initially appeared to be a regional permitting dispute.
But here is the crux: national security cannot be a magic phrase to shut down environmental law whenever a data center needs more power. If the government wants to purchase or use Grok, it can say so directly. If xAI wants to operate a large gas-powered facility next to communities already anxious about pollution, it still must answer the fundamental questions every other high-power user must answer: What are you emitting, who is breathing it, and who has the opportunity to object before the machines start?
According to the Associated Press, the Department of Justice states that Mississippi, not the federal government, is responsible for permitting, and the state has determined that no permit is required. The NAACP and environmental lawyers argue that the Clean Air Act still grants residents the right to sue polluters. This right is not a minor technical feature. It is how communities gain leverage when institutional action moves slowly or when politically important companies are deemed too critical to slow down.
xAI's defenders will point to jobs, investment, and America's race to maintain AI infrastructure superiority over China. Fair enough. These are real interests. But asthma attacks, heart disease risk, and formaldehyde exposure are also real. According to the Guardian, the NAACP's case alleges that the Southaven turbines could emit more than 5,000 tons of nitrogen oxide annually, along with fine particulate matter and toxic chemicals. A nation serious about AI should be able to calculate both GPU capacity and emissions simultaneously.
This case matters more than Musk himself because of the precedent it sets. AI companies are no longer merely software firms renting server racks in others' buildings. They are becoming power developers, land users, water consumers, and in some places, industrial polluters. If they can rapidly install temporary gas facilities next to data centers and then point to defense contracts when questioned, public review processes become optional for companies with the right government relationships.
Even if you believe the United States needs more AI computing capacity, this should concern you. Especially in this case. Critical infrastructure earns public trust through transparent construction, proper permitting, and fact-based processes. xAI may ultimately convince the court that the Southaven turbines are legal. The Department of Justice may win its dismissal. But a core question will linger over northern Mississippi, beside those turbines: If AI is important enough to demand urgent implementation, why was it not important enough to build cleanly and legally from the start?