Mississippi regulators have approved a permit allowing Elon Musk\u2019s artificial intelligence company xAI to construct a natural gas power plant in Southaven. The facility is expected to support the company\u2019s expanding AI infrastructure tied to its Colossus data center operations near Memphis.<\/p>\n
The development was reported by CNBC<\/a>, citing confirmation from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).<\/p>\n According to the report, regulators \u201cvoted to approve the permit\u201d of xAI subsidiary MZX Tech LLC to construct a power plant featuring 41 natural gas-burning turbines \u201cafter careful consideration of all public comments and community concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality stated that the permit followed a regulatory review process that included public comments and community input. Jaricus Whitlock, air division chief for the MDEQ, stated that the project met all applicable environmental standards.<\/p>\n NEWS: Elon Musk’s @xAI<\/a> has just won a permit to build a power plant in Mississippi to help power its massive Colossus datacenter.<\/p>\n “The proposed PSD permit in front of the board today not only meets all state and federal permitting regulations, but goes above and beyond what is\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/T7ojh4fYs0<\/a>\u2014 Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed PSD permit in front of the board today not only meets all state and federal permitting regulations, but goes above and beyond what is required by law. MDEQ and the EPA agree that not a single person around our facilities will be exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution,\u201d Whitlock stated.<\/p>\n The planned facility will help provide electricity for xAI\u2019s AI computing infrastructure in the Memphis region.<\/p>\n The Southaven project forms part of xAI\u2019s efforts to scale computing capacity for its artificial intelligence systems.<\/p>\n The company currently operates two major data centers in Memphis, known as Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, which provide computing power for xAI\u2019s Grok AI models. xAI is also planning to build another large data center in Southaven called Macrohardrr, which would be located in a warehouse previously used by GXO Logistics.<\/p>\n Large-scale AI training requires substantial computing power and electricity, prompting technology companies to develop dedicated energy infrastructure for their data centers.<\/p>\n