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SpaceX Agrees to Remove Temporary Gas Turbines at Colossus Data Center By 2027
Gizmodo • • business
Key Points:
- SpaceX has agreed with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to begin removing 69 temporary gas turbines powering its Colossus AI data center complex, with full removal potentially delayed until July 2027.
- The turbines currently power facilities near Memphis, Tennessee, supporting AI operations including training xAI’s Grok models and leasing capacity to other AI firms like Anthropic.
- SpaceX plans to replace the temporary turbines with a permanent 1.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant, authorized under a Clean Air Act permit expected by March 2026.
- The agreement follows a lawsuit from the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center alleging unpermitted turbine operation and pollution, with the Justice Department supporting SpaceX's position that the turbines qualify for a temporary-mobile exemption.
- SpaceX acquired xAI earlier this year and, in its recent IPO, highlighted a massive $28.5 trillion market opportunity in AI, with plans to invest nearly $3 billion in gas turbines to support its data center operations.
