The Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice are threatening to sue Elon Musk’s xAI on behalf of the NAACP, claiming the company’s power generation in Southaven violates the federal Clean Air Act.

In a letter on Friday, the center argues that xAI’s operation of “mobile-temporary” turbines in Southaven without air permits are polluting the air in Southaven and the greater Memphis area. 

“xAI is running a de facto power plant without an air permit, without necessary pollution controls, and without regard for families living as close as a half mile away,” said Laura Thoms, enforcement director for Earthjustice in a statement.

xAI, an artificial intelligence company valued at $250 billion, began building its first data center in Memphis in 2024. Since then it has started to build another center in Memphis, bought a power plant in Mississippi and recently announced that it had purchased a warehouse in Southaven to build another data center. According to county records, the company purchased additional property this month.

The company began operating the temporary turbines at the former Duke Energy power plant in Southaven as early as mid-August to power its data centers.

While Mississippians have expressed concern over noise and potential air pollution from the turbines, the number of turbines have increased. The company started with 18 but is now operating 27 at the site. 

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has said the turbines fall under an exemption that allows temporary turbines to operate without a permit, as long as they do so for less than a year. MDEQ has said the turbines have “air pollution control devices.”

xAI is in the process of applying for air permits to operate 41 permanent turbines in Mississippi. MDEQ is holding a public hearing on Tuesday in Southaven where members of the public can comment on the proposal.

In January, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that xAI would be building another data center, in Mississippi. “This is the largest economic development project in Mississippi’s history,” Reeves said in a statement. 

There are five data center projects in Mississippi, including xAI. Such data centers are popping up all over the South, driven by the artificial intelligence boom.

Proponents say these projects are creating jobs, driving demand for Mississippi construction companies, paying for upgrades to the electric grid and adding tens of millions in taxes to local governments.

But critics say the centers create relatively few permanent jobs, demand large amounts of energy that could drive up customers’ rates and that they receive overly generous tax abatements from the state. Despite recent concerns over an AI bubble, economic development leaders across the state have said that companies continue to be interested in building data centers in the state and that more may be coming.