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What just happened? When Elon Musk’s xAI designed its Colossus data centers in South Memphis, it chose an unconventional power strategy: generating electricity off-grid with gas-powered turbines. That setup – intended to meet the intensive computational needs of Grok, Grokipedia, and xAI’s image-generation platform – now faces a significant regulatory obstacle. A newly clarified rule from the EPA states that such turbines are subject to the same federal Clean Air Act requirements as stationary power plants, closing the loophole xAI had previously exploited.
The Southern Environmental Law Center had argued last year that xAI’s turbines were operating without proper air quality permits. The organization claimed the company was incorrectly classifying large methane-fueled turbines as “non-road engines,” a distinction meant for temporary or movable generators…