Data Centers and Energy
Reporting finds more unpermitted gas turbines at xAI's Colossus 2 than publicly acknowledged
Partially confirmed
- Date
- 2026-07-14
- Location
- Southaven, Mississippi, United States
- Category
- Data Centers and Energy
In July 2026, Reuters reported that xAI had installed far more gas turbines without federal permits at its Colossus 2 data center project in Southaven, Mississippi than it had publicly acknowledged, and that the resulting pollution falls hardest on nearby Black communities. xAI disputes the characterization of its turbines as unpermitted, and in October 2026 a federal judge allowed the NAACP's Clean Air Act lawsuit to continue. AI connection: xAI operates the Colossus campus to train its Grok models, so the sources establish an AI-specific facility.