SpaceX says it will remove the unpermitted gas turbines powering xAI’s Colossus data centres near Memphis, but the process will not finish until July 2027. The announcement matters because the turbines are the subject of legal action and pollution concerns in an already heavily polluted region, while SpaceX builds a permanent natural-gas plant with 1.2 gigawatts of capacity.

The company is operating 69 turbines and argues that they do not need permits because they remain on shipping trailers; federal rules reportedly dispute that interpretation. The turbines could emit more than 2,000 tonnes of smog-forming nitrogen oxides annually, and the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center have sued xAI; the US Department of Justice supported SpaceX last month on national security grounds. Mississippi permits show the planned plant will use 41 turbines of 16.48 to 50 megawatts, while SpaceX also plans $2.8 billion of turbine purchases over three years.