Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company has been granted authorisation to build a gas-burning power plant, despite major concerns for pollution.
The ruling was made by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality earlier this week, granting xAI the go-ahead for the plant in the state, saying they had made the choice after “careful consideration of all public comments and community concerns”.
This comes despite push back from advocate groups and locals, worried about noise and air pollution from the 41 gas-burner turbines, which will be used to power xAI's data centres nearby.
Advocates had also been campaigning to have the vote postponed, since it took place on the same day as Mississippi's primary elections, but was overruled.
“We’re extremely disappointed in MDEQ’s decision to greenlight this inadequate permit for xAI’s power plant, which fails to address the significant concerns about the impact of these added turbines will have on communities," said Patrick Anderson, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.
“Mississippi state regulators appear to be more interested in fast-tracking xAI’s personal power plant than conducting a thorough review of its impacts and having meaningful engagement with the families that will be forced to live with this dirty facility—and its pollution—in their communities.”
