SpaceX won't fully remove xAI's unpermitted turbines until 2027

SpaceX said on Thursday it will remove the unpermitted gas turbines powering xAI’s Colossus data centers near Memphis, though the switch to permitted power won’t be finished until July 2027. The company said it currently runs 69 gas turbines at the site, many of which have been operating for months, while it transitions to a permanent, 1.2-gigawatt natural gas power plant.

The turbines sit at the center of a lawsuit from the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center, which sued xAI over their use without permits. SpaceX argues it can operate the existing turbines without permits because they remain on the trailers they were shipped on. Federal regulations, however, state that turbines of this size and use require permits regardless of what they sit on. The equipment is located in Mississippi, just south of the Tennessee border near Memphis — a region already among the most polluted in the U.S. — and has the potential to emit more than 2,000 tons of smog-forming NOx per year. Last month, the Department of Justice sided with SpaceX in the NAACP’s suit, calling the unpermitted turbines a matter of “national, economic, and energy security.”

SpaceX acquired xAI in February, and its IPO filing said the company plans to buy $2.8 billion worth of gas turbines for its data centers over the next three years. Permit documents issued by the state of Mississippi show the new, permanent power plant will consist of 41 gas turbines ranging in size from 16.48 megawatts to 50 megawatts — equipment that appears distinct from the 69 turbines currently in use, though TechCrunch could not verify the specific models of those existing units.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk bought APR Energy, a company that specializes in temporary natural gas power. Turbines in APR Energy’s fleet, based on an archived version of the company’s site before it was taken down, also appear different from those cited in permits for the new Colossus plant — suggesting the newly acquired turbine fleet is likely intended for another, unannounced project rather than for Colossus itself.

Why it matters

The gap between the pace of AI-driven data-center buildout and the permitting process meant to govern it is now playing out with federal backing for the faster path, in a region already flagged for pollution — a dynamic likely to recur as more AI infrastructure is built on compressed timelines.