The Department of Justice is trying to block a lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI. File Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA
June 17 (UPI) -- The Department of Justice is trying to quash a lawsuit against a power plant that supports an xAI data center and is arguing that the turbines are essential to national security.
The suit, filed by the NAACP and several environmental groups against Elon Musk's xAI, alleges that a power plant in Southaven, Miss., is operating without permits and violates the Clean Air Act. The plant powers the xAI Colossus 2 data center, which is over the state line in Memphis, Tenn. Colossus 2 supports the Grok artificial intelligence bot.
The NAACP alleges that the power plant runs 57 turbines with no pollution controls, making it one of the biggest single industrial sources of smog-forming nitrogen oxide in the United States and a significant source of other harmful air pollutants like particulate matter and formaldehyde, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups like children, older adults and low-income or minority households.
The suit demands penalties of about $124,000 per day per violation, The New York Times reported, and an injunction forcing the company to stop the turbines.
