Elon Musk's AI firm xAI is being sued for air pollution resulting from its gas-fired turbines at the Memphis computer facility. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) issued a 60-day notice of intent to sue, pointing out that xAI is violating the Clean Air Act by operating combustion turbines without the necessary permits. These turbines, installed to power the Colossus datacenter, emit harmful pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde. The SELC noted that formal requests for enforcement have been ignored while community concerns about poor air quality persist in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Boxtown, Memphis. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief and penalties. xAI is also building a larger facility, Colossus 2, amidst soaring demand for data centers driven by cloud computing and AI growth. The U.S. Department of Energy anticipates that demand for data centers may double or triple by 2028, necessitating significant investments to meet these needs. AI's rapid growth is straining existing resources, with experts projecting a 165% increase in data center demand by 2030.

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