The US state of Tennessee is in the middle of a major environmental crisis due to the electricity demand created by the giant supercomputer Colossus of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI. When the company’s data center, which was set up to run its ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence system Grok, could not provide enough electricity, a solution was sought in illegal methane gas turbines.
Colossus supercomputer consumes a lot of energy
However, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other harmful gases emitted from the turbines pose a serious threat to public health in the surrounding neighborhoods. While the number of gas turbines used in the Colossus facility is rapidly increasing, most of these turbines do not have legal permits.
Authorities point out that xAI has only officially applied for 15 turbines, but 35 gas generators are actively operating on the site. According to satellite images and information obtained from local sources, the total production capacity of these turbines exceeds 420 megawatts. This amount is enough to meet the entire electricity needs of a medium-sized city.
According to the legislation, any facility producing this level of energy must obtain emissions permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, xAI’s system does not meet these requirements. The turbines at the facility are reported to emit approximately 1,200 to 2,100 tons of nitrogen oxides per year. These values make the facility Tennessee’s largest industrial air polluter.
According to US law, facilities that emit more than 250 tons of NOx per year are considered “major pollutants.” Legal experts say that the company frequently moves generators for less than 364 days a week, exploiting loopholes, and that this practice violates the spirit of environmental laws.
Local governments and environmental organizations are demanding that xAI’s activities be regulated and its environmental impacts be assessed by independent experts. What do you think about this? Share your views with us in the comments section below.
