The Shelby County Health Department has approved a key air pollution control permit for xAI Operations LLC, clearing the way for Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company to move forward with permanent infrastructure at its South Memphis supercomputer facility.
The permit, issued July 2, authorizes xAI to construct and operate 15 natural gas-fired combustion turbines. According to the Health Department, the turbines will include Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems designed to significantly limit emissions of nitrogen oxides and other pollutants.
The agency stated that xAI met all applicable federal, state and local environmental regulations under the Clean Air Act, including air dispersion modeling, emissions thresholds and pollution control requirements. The approval follows months of intense public debate, protest and formal opposition from organizations including the NAACP and Memphis Community Against Pollution.
In a public statement accompanying the decision, the Health Department said it had “carefully reviewed all public comments” received during the hearing and comment period, including emotional testimony from hundreds of residents who cited decades of environmental injustice in Southwest Memphis.
The approval comes despite an official May 29 letter from the NAACP demanding an emergency shutdown of xAI’s operations. That letter accused xAI of illegally operating unpermitted turbines and criticized the Health Department and Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) for failing to enforce transparency and air quality protections.
MLGW denied those claims in a written response, insisting the utility had no authority over turbine permitting and emphasizing that it must provide service to any customer in its territory under federal law.
Dr. Bruce Randolph, who was appointed interim director of the Shelby County Health Department following the announcement of Dr. Michelle Taylor’s pending departure in August, has not issued a separate statement beyond the official notice of permit approval. However, in earlier comments, the department emphasized that all compliance benchmarks had been met and that earned adherence to environmental law guided the decision.
In a joint statement from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), community groups expressed frustration following the decision. KeShaun Pearson, lead organizer with Memphis Community Against Pollution, said the decision was a blow to public trust.
“Our local leaders are entrusted with protecting us from corporations violating our right to clean air, but we are witnessing their failure to do so,” Pearson said. “We are devastated, yet we remain determined to the mission of justice for our families in South Memphis, who are overburdened with air pollution.”
Amanda Garcia, senior attorney with SELC, called the decision disappointing and said the organization is evaluating its options.
“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,” Garcia said in the statement. “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.”
The turbines approved under the permit are projected to emit nitrogen oxide at just two parts per million — far below the 25 ppm federal limit. According to xAI and its engineering consultants, the facility will also rely on a closed-loop cooling system and will not draw water from the Memphis Sand Aquifer. Instead, an $80 million wastewater recycling facility is planned to support the water needs of xAI, TVA and Nucor Steel.
