When your AI ambitions outgrow the local power grid, apparently you just build your own. Elon Musk’s xAI has installed natural gas turbines across the state line in Southaven, Mississippi, to feed the voracious energy appetite of its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
The facility, which began operations in late 2025, is on track to become one of the first gigawatt-scale AI data centers on the planet.
The power play behind Colossus 2
Memphis’s existing electrical grid simply couldn’t handle the load. So xAI took matters into its own hands, installing natural gas turbines just across the Mississippi border to generate its own electricity.
By May 2026, xAI had 46 turbines operational in Southaven, generating up to 495 MW of electricity. The company started with 27 turbines and has been scaling aggressively. Plans call for an additional 41 permanent gas turbines to support the facility’s continued expansion.
