Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI is facing a lawsuit due to air pollution emissions from its gas turbines used to power a computer farm in Memphis.
xAI received a 60-day notice of intent to sue from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) on Tuesday, accusing it of violating the Clean Air Act at its "Colossus" AI data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
This potential lawsuit is backed by the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the United States, focusing on the company's installation of dozens of gas turbines to power the facility instead of waiting for a grid connection.
According to the SELC, these turbines are operating without the proper air quality permits and are emitting harmful pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde, in violation of the Clean Air Act.
"In the past year, xAI has installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution at the Colossus site, but has never obtained the necessary pre-construction or operating air permits," the notice stated.
The notice also claims that xAI failed to implement "best available control technology," such as selective catalytic reduction to limit emissions, which is another requirement of the Clean Air Act for major sources of pollution.
"We have formally requested the local health department on four different occasions to use its authority to enforce the law," SELC senior attorney Patrick Anderson told Newsweek, adding, "Clearly, that has not happened."
The Colossus data center is located near a former electronics manufacturing plant in South Memphis, close to a predominantly African American community called Boxtown, which has seen air quality decline due to other industrial emissions.
"We are prepared to fight environmental racism at every turn," the NAACP stated on the X platform.
The civil rights organization is seeking injunctive relief, civil penalties, costs, and legal fees.
Cointelegraph reached out to xAI and the NAACP for further comments but did not receive an immediate response.
Musk's xAI is building a second, larger facility, Colossus 2, in Memphis, which will require at least 1 gigawatt of power.
The demand for data centers is rapidly increasing, primarily driven by the growth of cloud computing and AI, with the U.S. Department of Energy predicting that demand could double or triple by 2028.
Research firm McKinsey reported in May that by 2030, data centers will require a global investment of $6.7 trillion to meet the surge in demand.
"Record demand for AI is hitting limits in data centers and power supply as AI companies struggle to achieve profitability amid rising costs. Institutions estimate that by 2030, AI will drive a 165% increase in data center demand," Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, told Cointelegraph.
Amazon recently signed an agreement with Talen Energy to use nuclear power for its AI data center in Pennsylvania, with the agreement lasting until 2042. Amazon also stated plans to invest over $13 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure in Australia.
Related: Gemini accuses CFTC enforcement officials of "award-hunting legal warfare" in 2022
Original article: “Elon Musk's AI Company xAI Faces Lawsuit Over Data Center Air Pollution”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
