Musk’s xAI is building a small solar farm adjacent to the Colossus data center

AI startup xAI, founded by Elon Musk, told city and county planners in Memphis last week that it plans to build a solar farm next to its Colossus data center — one of the world’s largest facilities for training AI models.

The project will occupy 88 acres to the west and south of the data center. A 136-acre vacant lot is owned by the developer who also owns the Colossus property that currently borders the site. Given the proposed size, the solar farm would likely produce about 30 megawatts of electricity, only about 10% of the data center’s estimated energy use.

Musk’s company has come under fire for operating more than 400 megawatts of natural gas turbines without permits, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). The legal organization, working with the NAACP, says xAI has operated at least 35 turbines capable of releasing more than 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxide_X Pollution – nitrogen oxide emissions that contribute to smog and respiratory problems – annually.

The turbines sparked fierce opposition from residents in nearby Boxtown, a majority black community, where researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that peak nitrogen dioxide concentration levels increased by 79% in the immediate surroundings of the data center after AGI operations began. Community activists have reported an increase in asthma attacks and respiratory problems since the facility opened.

The AI ​​company said it intends to use the turbines until it can secure additional power, but local officials have given XAI a permit to operate 15 turbines until January 2027.

In September, XAI said it would build a 100-megawatt solar farm nearby, which will be paired with 100-megawatt grid-scale batteries to provide a 24/7 supply of electricity.

The company did not disclose the total cost of this project, but the solar farm’s developer, Seven States Power Corporation, received $439 million from the USDA. Of this amount, $414 million is an interest-free loan.

The federal award is noteworthy given that many clean energy grants and loans were eliminated by the EPA and Department of Energy under the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, XAI added gas turbines in Mississippi to power its Colossus 2 data center. So far, there are 59 of them on site, and the company considers 18 of them temporary, meaning regulators are not tracking their pollution.