xAI data centre ‘Colossus’ found to be generating extra electricity illegally

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared that the electricity-generating turbines were not exempt from air quality permit requirements, despite xAI claiming this was the case.

The turbines in question were outside xAI’s Colossus 1 and 2 data centre facilities. EPA stated in its revised ruling that operating the gas turbines still requires air permits even if they are being used on a portable or temporary basis. xAI first installed the portable turbines at Colossus 1, with The Guardian reporting that 35 of these generators were powering Colossus 1 at one point. xAI is now operating 12 permitted machines at the site.

“Our communities, air, water and land are not playgrounds for billionaires chasing another buck,” said Abre’ Conner, the director of environmental and climate justice for the NAACP, according to The Guardian. The NAACP initiated a lawsuit against xAI last July saying the unpermitted turbines were violating the Clean Air Act.

The news comes during a time where the data centre industry is being scrutinised for its electricity use and raised emissions. As industry demand continues to soar, debate continues over if these facilities are putting strain on local resources or increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, according to the Rhodium Group, greenhouse gas emissions in the US grew by roughly 2.4%, reversing the downward trend of the previous two years. The research firm cites data centres and coal as part of the reason for the rise.

Speaking to Capacity last year, JLL’s director and head of EMEA data centre research Daniel Thorpe said: “The current data centre boom is just the beginning of a wider growth in infrastructure to fuel this new technology. The challenge, however, will be to ensure the infrastructure is sustainable and runs efficiently.”

For xAI, the turbines it has been using at Colossus are necessary for the company to power its supercomputers that fuel Grok, its chatbot. Colossus 1 was set up in 122 days in 2024, the fastest time a data centre has been constructed and operational.

Colossus 2 is also powered by dozens of gas turbines, with Mississippi Today stating the data centre has 59 generators.

The news also comes in the wake of the controversy over xAI’s Grok chatbot, which was accused of generating nonconsensual deepfake images of women and underage girls.

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