Elon Musk의 가스 발전 방식 xAI 데이터센터(콜로서스 포함)가 지역 주민들과 심각한 갈등을 빚고 있다고 BGR이 보도했다.

In Memphis, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has pushed to sue over gas turbines being erected despite health and environmental concerns from local residents. Elon Musk, now described as a momentary trillionaire, has faced sharp criticism over his company xAI and its use of gas turbines to power data centers. Although Musk gained notoriety for promoting electric vehicles that could reduce environmental harm, his businesses tell a very different story.

In Boxtown, Memphis, an area with a large Black community, the NAACP has accused xAI of disregarding safeguards. It has also alleged that the gas turbines were installed illegally, without proper planning permission. The main reason xAI has relied on gas-powered generation is that the local energy grid cannot support Colossus and its enormous number of graphics processing units (GPUs), which help power Anthropic's Claude and xAI's own large language model, Grok. The NAACP has since taken xAI to court over turbines at its nearby Mississippi facility.

The NAACP has also claimed that xAI broke laws set out by the Clean Air Act. During 2025, xAI reportedly had 35 different turbines operating, removed some, and then replaced them with three larger turbines. Residents describe increases in heat, smell, and noise in the area, with some saying it smells like sewage or gas depending on the day. The problem extends beyond Memphis. Musk's other massive data center, Colossus 2, has also been linked to pollution concerns.

Right on the Tennessee-Mississippi state line, still within the greater Memphis metropolitan area, lies Whitehaven, Tennessee. Residents there, in a town that is 92% Black, are trying to fend off Musk's large power plants. Colossus 2, another data center operating in Memphis, faces the same problem that Colossus 1 and many other data centers face: existing power grids cannot supply the level of power required for operations. As a result, xAI installed 59 natural gas generators, mostly across the border in Mississippi. Natural gas accounts for 43% of U.S. electricity generation, but concentrating such generators in one location has had an adverse effect on surrounding residents. According to reporting from Reuters, 59 is about double the number of gas generators xAI had publicly acknowledged.

Mississippi regulators have not come to the aid of nearby residents. Officials granted xAI permission to build 41 permanent gas generators, and there are few signs they will intervene. The Southern Environmental Law Center has also filed further lawsuits seeking to prevent additional action by xAI in this regard.

AI data centers have faced growing scrutiny over energy and water use for some time. Even Nvidia's efficiency improvements still result in substantial resources being consumed to generate the electricity needed to run them. In the 2026 midterms, referendums and motions on data centers were put to voters. In many areas voting on whether to allow data centers, residents have rejected them. Musk's interest in space-based computing is perhaps unsurprising in this context.