Elon Musk’s xAI is using eight converted jet-engine turbines to supply power to a data center in Mississippi, as operators seek alternatives amid growing demand for electricity. The turbines have state-level permits, but their emissions have prompted objections from environmental advocates.
The permits allow emissions of volatile organic compounds at levels 25% higher than the applicable limit cited in the report. The Southern Environmental Law Center has challenged Mississippi’s approval, arguing that xAI has not shown the turbines meet standards for specific pollutants, including formaldehyde. The group also alleges that the company undercounted projected emissions from the facility’s power sources. The turbines also emit carbon monoxide, raising concerns about local environmental and health impacts.
The Southern Environmental Law Center previously sued xAI over its use of gas generators without required permits in an area with more than 100,000 residents.
The turbines are converted by Missouri-based ProEnergy from unused General Electric engines of the type typically found on Boeing aircraft. Each can generate up to 50 megawatts of electricity, enough to power around 15,000 homes under normal conditions.
Power availability has become a constraint for data center projects. A July 2026 report forecast that data centers could consume 20% of U.S. electricity by 2035, an 83% increase over a forecast made seven months earlier. By April, half of data center construction projects had been canceled or delayed, with limited power among the reasons. xAI faces its own expansion ambitions: Musk said in August that the company planned to increase its data center capacity sevenfold before the end of 2027.
Using converted turbines may help xAI secure electricity, but the emissions dispute adds to local concerns about the effects of data centers, including their power and water use.
Sources: Tom's Hardware.