Musk and xAI accused of using unauthorized turbines to worsen Memphis smog | Wilnesh News

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has been accused by environmental and health advocates of exacerbating pollution problems in Memphis, Tennessee, by using natural gas-burning turbines at its new data center without permits.

The company said it would open a data center in a former Electrolux factory in June, shortly after announcing it had raised $6 billion in funding at a $24 billion valuation. in a Post on X Last month, Musk boasted that xAI had begun using 100,000 pieces of data at the facility to train its artificial intelligence models NVIDIA H100 processor.

The Southern Environmental Law Center this week sent a letter to the Shelby County health department, where Memphis is located, and to a regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of multiple local groups asking regulators to investigate xAI’s unpermitted use of the turbines and the pollution they create. .

The letter states that xAI has “installed at least 18 gas turbines over the past few months (with the potential to install more).”

The company has been using turbines to power the facility, but its long-term plan is to use power from local utilities Memphis Electric, Gas & Water and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

MLGW told CNBC it began supplying 50 megawatts of power to xAI in early August. However, the xAI facility requires an additional 100 megawatts of power. The utility installed more circuit breakers and began improving transmission lines in the area to prepare for xAI’s increased power consumption.

Musk is also the company’s CEO Tesla The owner of SpaceX and social media company X launched xAI in 2023 to develop large-scale language models and artificial intelligence products aimed at competing with products from other countries Google, Microsoft and open artificial intelligence. The company’s initial product is a chatbot called Grok, billed as a politically incorrect alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Artificial intelligence models often require large amounts of energy for data training and processing.

“This plant requires a lot of power,” supporters wrote in the letter.

Some of the 18 turbines, which are visible from the roads surrounding the hotel, emit air pollutants called nitrogen oxides (NOx), exacerbating the area’s long-standing smog problem, according to the advocates’ letter. Shelby County gets an “F” grade American Lung Association Because of its smoke.

according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websiteEven low levels of nitrogen oxides in the air can irritate people’s eyes, noses, throats and lungs, causing them to cough, shortness of breath, fatigue and nausea. The agency said inhaling high levels of nitrogen oxides can cause “rapid burning, spasming, and swelling of throat and upper respiratory tract tissue” as well as other serious health problems.

Businesses in Tennessee typically need a license to operate the type of turbines used by xAI. These permits will determine the allowable emission concentrations and determine the engine’s efficiency requirements.

The permit also requires air quality testing to ensure users are not causing more pollution in the area than expected due to issues such as poorly maintained engines.

“The biggest concern is that there has been very little transparency and opportunity for public participation in the xAI project,” Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney in the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Tennessee office, told CNBC. Additional concerns, she said, are It “has had significant health and environmental impacts on surrounding communities”.

The groups wrote in the letter that the xAI turbines already installed emit an estimated 130 tons of nitrogen oxides per year, which would make them the ninth largest source of pollutants in the county. Their combined capacity can power approximately 50,000 homes.

Musk leads companies with a history of building facilities or operating high-emissions equipment without first obtaining permits.

CNBC It was reported earlier this month that SpaceX ran water showers and cooling systems at its launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, and repeatedly discharged industrial wastewater there without a permit, violating the Clean Water Act. .

Musk’s tunneling company The Boring Co. Also fined Texas environmental regulators responded to a similar problem by discharging wastewater into the Colorado River in Bastrop, Texas, without applying for a permit or installing appropriate pollution controls.

Tesla cited by a person in California air pollution regulator In 2021, paint shop equipment that emitted harmful air pollutants was installed and modified without the permits and reviews required by the Clean Air Act.

The EPA regional office in Memphis did not respond to a request for comment. Neither does xAI.

watch: Musk should “get back to making affordable electric cars” instead of investing in xAI