xAI's Memphis data center runs 35 gas turbines, up to 2,000 tons of NOx a year
ShakeelHashim · x · 2026-11-09
Transformer News explains why the AI industry can't resist on-site gas turbines:
- xAI's Colossus data center in Memphis runs up to 35 portable gas turbines at once, a combined 420 MW — enough for nearly half a million homes — within two miles of residential neighborhoods.
- Per a Southern Environmental Law Center letter, the turbines could emit 1,200–2,000 tons of nitrogen oxides a year, making it Memphis's largest industrial emitter; NOx includes known carcinogens and causes acid rain and water pollution.
- These setups are worse than grid-scale gas plants: less efficient, fewer pollution controls, located in populated areas. The author expects others to follow Musk's precedent, since on-site power has real commercial logic for compute expansion.
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