SpaceX won't remove all of xAI's unpermitted turbines for another year
SpaceX is building a new power plant for xAI's Colossus data centers, but it won't remove existing, unpermitted turbines for many more months. SpaceX said on Thursday that it will remove the unpermitted turbines powering its xAI data centers near Memphis as it transitions to a permanent, 1. 2 gigawatt natural gas power plant.
Key Takeaways
- The turbines won't be completely removed until July 2027, though.
SpaceX said that it's currently operating 69 gas turbines to power the Colossus data centers, of which many have been operating for months.
- 8 billion worth of gas turbines for its data centers over the next three years.
The company claims that it is allowed to operate the existing turbines without permits because they remain on the trailers they were shipped on.
- , and xAI has been operating gas turbines that have the potential to emit more than 2,000 tons of smog-forming NO x per year.
Last month, the Department of Justice sided with SpaceX in the NAACP's lawsuit, saying the unpermitted turbines were a matter of "national, economic, and energy security.
- Earlier this year, Elon Musk bought APR Energy, a company that specializes in temporary natural gas power.
Based on an archive of the company's site before it was taken down, the turbines in the company's fleet also appear to be different from those cited in permits for the new, permanent power plant.
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Stats & Key Facts
- #8 billion worth of gas turbines for its data centers over the next three years.
- #They appear to be different from those currently in use, though TechCrunch could not verify the specific models of the 69 existing turbines.
- #De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism.
The turbines won't be completely removed until July 2027, though. SpaceX said that it's currently operating 69 gas turbines to power the Colossus data centers, of which many have been operating for months. The NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center have sued xAI over the use of unpermitted turbines.
The company claims that it is allowed to operate the existing turbines without permits because they remain on the trailers they were shipped on. But federal regulations say that the turbines xAI has been using, regardless of what they sit on, require permits because of their size and how they're being used. The turbines are currently located south of Memphis in Mississippi, just over the border with Tennessee.
The region is among the most polluted in the U. , and xAI has been operating gas turbines that have the potential to emit more than 2,000 tons of smog-forming NO x per year. Last month, the Department of Justice sided with SpaceX in the NAACP's lawsuit, saying the unpermitted turbines were a matter of "national, economic, and energy security.
For more details please read the original article at TechCrunch AI.
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