Thermal drone imagery captured by Floodlight shows more than a dozen unpermitted turbines operating at xAI’s gas plant in Southaven, Miss. Right: Standard aerial image of the same site. (Evan Simon / Floodlight)
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is continuing to fuel its data centers with unpermitted gas turbines, according to a Floodlight visual investigation. Thermal drone footage shows xAI is still burning gas at a facility in Southaven, Miss., despite a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruling reiterating that doing so requires a state permit in advance.
State regulators in Mississippi maintain that since the turbines are parked on tractor trailers, they don’t require permits. However, the EPA has long required that such pollution sources be permitted under the Clean Air Act…