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xAI installed 27 methane gas turbines without permits next to minority communities in Memphis. The NAACP sued. The Trump DOJ intervened for the corporation. Dixie County commissioners are pushing data centers while refusing conflict of interest questions.
NewsOnScale Staff
September 6, 2026
In 2024 Elon Musk xAI moved into South Memphis Tennessee. It installed 27 methane gas turbines to power its Colossus 2 data center. It did not obtain the air permits required by federal law. The turbines went up next to homes schools and churches in predominantly Black neighborhoods that already carry a disproportionate burden of pollution-related childhood illness.
In April 2026 the NAACP represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice sued xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech for violating the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit demanded daily fines of approximately 124000 dollars and an injunction halting the turbines until proper permits were obtained.
In July 2026 the Trump administration Department of Justice intervened and asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. The DOJ argued that the citizen suit threatens American national economic and energy security. The federal government sided with the corporation against the community.
What the Community Said
Angie Davis a former choir director who moved from Memphis to Southaven three decades ago has a daughter and granddaughter living next to the unpermitted gas turbines. It seems to me that we are being very thoroughly thrown under the bus Davis said at a Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality public hearing in February 2026. I do not think it would have been done if the powers that be thought we could fight back.
What This Has to Do With Dixie County
On September 3 2026 Dixie County held two public meetings. Residents were asked whether they objected to data center development in the county. Every person in the room raised their hand. The commissioners did not halt data center discussions.
A resident asked commissioners directly whether they have financial investments in or are receiving payments from data center companies. Not all commissioners responded. The county attorney did not answer the question at this meeting or at the prior meeting when the same question was raised.
Dixie County is a rural community of approximately 16000 people. It has a closed fire station. Eight paramedics resigned over the summer. Two remain. The county faces an 800000 dollar budget shortfall.
The xAI Playbook
Move fast. Install infrastructure. Worry about permits later. Locate facilities near communities with less political power. When challenged legally seek federal intervention to protect the investment on national security grounds.
xAI Colossus 2 experienced a significant outage on September 3 2026 the same day as Dixie County public meetings blamed on hardware issues at the Memphis compute center. The facility has experienced multiple outages.
The Questions Dixie County Has Not Answered
NewsOnScale will be submitting a public records request to Dixie County for all communications between county commissioners the county attorney and any data center company or representative.
Memphis residents asked similar questions after the turbines were already running. Dixie County residents are asking them before. That is the right time to ask.
DISCLOSURE: JJ Johnson is the founder of AMILLI AI CORP which operates NewsOnScale. He is a Dixie County resident a declared candidate for President of the United States in 2028 and the plaintiff in Case No. 1:26-cv-00197-RH-HTC. Johnson attended the September 3 2026 Dixie County commission meetings referenced in this article.