Memphis health leaders grant air permit for xAI data center

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Today, the Shelby County Health Department announced it would grant xAI’s request for an air permit, allowing the company to run 15 polluting methane gas turbines at its South Memphis data center for the foreseeable future. The decision ignores the facility’s continued use of turbines not covered by the permit and months of intense public pushback from local communities in Memphis who worry about the impact xAI’s operations will have on their air.

XAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, began operations at its South Memphis data center in June 2024. To power the facility, it unlawfully installed 35 gas turbines at the facility without any permits, oversight, or input from nearby communities. A satellite image from July 1, 2025, shows at least 24 turbines still at the xAI site, more than the 15 allowed by this newly published permit.

Methane gas turbines release smog-forming pollution and harmful chemicals like formaldehyde. The pollutants are tied to asthma, respiratory illnesses, heart problems, and even certain types of cancer.

Memphis has struggled with smog and industrial pollution for years, and predominantly Black communities in South Memphis bear the brunt of those impacts. The Memphis area is currently not meeting national standards for smog and neighborhoods in South Memphis face elevated asthma rates and cancer risks four times the national average.

Below are statements in response to the permit decision from the Southern Environmental Law Center, Memphis Community Against Pollution, Sierra Club, and Young Gifted and Green:

“The decision to give xAI an air permit for its polluting gas turbines flies in the face of the hundreds of Memphians who spoke out against the company’s permit request,” SELC Senior Attorney Amanda Garcia said. “Instead of confronting long-standing air pollution problems in South Memphis, the Shelby County Health Department is turning a blind eye to obvious Clean Air Act violations in order to allow another polluter to set up shop in this already-overburdened community without appropriate protections. We are evaluating our options moving forward.”

“We are deeply disappointed and oppose the decision by our Shelby County Health Department to approve the permit without meaningfully addressing the unlawful use of turbines on the site,” KeShaun Pearson, Director of Memphis Community Against Pollution said. “Our local leaders are entrusted with protecting us from corporations violating on our right to clean air, but we are witnessing their failure to do so. We are devastated yet we remain determined to the mission of justice for our families in South Memphis who are overburdened with air pollution.”

“The Shelby County Health Department’s approval of the xAI air permit is a stark reminder that our community’s health continues to be compromised for profit. We will not stand by while our air quality deteriorates and the voices of Black, marginalized communities are silenced. Environmental justice is a human right, and with the power of the people, we will remain steadfast in the fight for clean air,” LaTricea Adams, CEO and President of Young, Gifted & Green, said.

“While the NAACP is glad that 15 of xAI’s turbines are now subject to greater transparency and accountability around their methane gas emissions as highlighted in our letter, this decision ignores the community pushback. We believe that the Health Department could do more. We are still committed to holding xAI and the Health Department accountable,” said Abre’ Conner, Director of the NAACP’s Center for Environmental and Climate Justice.

“We are extremely disappointed with the Shelby County Health Department’s decision,” said Scott Banbury, Conservation Director of the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club. “The department should have protected the health of the residents of Shelby County by imposing meaningful pollution control requirements on all the turbines and pursuing enforcement against xAI for operating combustion turbines without best available pollution controls or a permit for more than a year.”