SpaceX will keep 69 unpermitted gas turbines running to power xAI's Colossus data centers until July 2027 [1, 2].
The delay in removing the turbines highlights the immense energy demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure and the resulting tension between rapid tech deployment and environmental regulation.
The turbines are located in the Mississippi area near Memphis, Tennessee [3, 4]. A SpaceX spokesperson said the company will fully remove the unpermitted gas turbines by July 2027 as part of an agreement with Mississippi regulators [2].
These temporary units are currently providing the necessary electricity for the Colossus data centers while SpaceX builds a permanent power solution. The Mississippi Public Service Commission said the new 1.2 GW power plant will replace the temporary turbines once construction is complete [5].
Despite the agreement, the continued operation of the site has drawn criticism from local activists. An environmental justice advocate said keeping these turbines running exposes a majority-Black community to NOx emissions that dwarf those of a major airport [1].
The timeline for removal is approximately one year from the current reports [2, 4]. The company's reliance on these unpermitted units underscores the difficulty of securing industrial-scale power for AI clusters in a short timeframe, often leading to the use of temporary, high-emission energy sources before permanent infrastructure is online.
“"We will fully remove the unpermitted gas turbines by July 2027 as part of our agreement with Mississippi regulators."”
This situation illustrates the 'energy gap' facing the AI industry, where the speed of hardware deployment outpaces the construction of permanent electrical grids. By utilizing unpermitted turbines, xAI and SpaceX are prioritizing operational uptime for the Colossus cluster over immediate regulatory compliance, while the subsequent agreement with Mississippi regulators suggests a pragmatic compromise to allow the 1.2 GW plant to reach completion.
