Shelby Co. Air Pollution Control Board denies appeal over xAI’s turbine use, citing ‘mootness’
Community gathers for public appeal hearing on xAI’s gas turbine permits
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Tension is in the air as the Memphis community came out for a public appeal hearing Monday over xAI’s permits to run gas turbines.
They doubled down on those concerns in front of the Memphis and Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board, which dismissed the appeal on the grounds of “mootness.”
The decision came down after a seven-hour meeting.
Members of the community, along with attorneys for xAI and local advocacy group Young Gifted and Green, made their case for why the turbines should or shouldn’t run.
xAI pointed to data showing no high levels of pollution near or around the communities its supercomputer is near. However, those against xAI say the company isn’t concerned with community impact, instead only focusing on being the fastest in AI development.
“This is an AI race,” said Christian Dennis. “Their goal is to go fast, break things, make advancements. And a lot of people look at this as a sort of innovation, but in reality, it’s a testing ground. A lot of this stuff is untested, a lot of this stuff is unproven, a lot of this stuff is unsafe. So, when will we as a city be tired of being used as a base for thriving business, for a booming business? We are the backs that this business will stand upon; we are not the people that will benefit from this type of stuff.”
The appeal hearing was over a July decision by the Shelby County Health Department to approve xAI’s permit request to run several methane gas turbines as backup power to the Colossus One facility.
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