Artificial intelligence company xAI, led by Elon Musk, has announced plans to develop an 88-acre solar farm adjacent to the Colossus data center in Memphis. The proposed solar farm aims to generate approximately 30 megawatts of electricity, which would account for around 10% of the data center’s power consumption.
The initiative comes amid concerns raised by the Southern Environmental Law Center and the NAACP regarding xAI’s operation of over 400 megawatts of natural gas turbines without permits, leading to worries about nitrogen oxide emissions impacting the nearby predominantly Black community of Boxtown. Local authorities have granted xAI permission to continue operating 15 turbines until January 2027.
In addition to the solar farm project, xAI previously announced plans for a 100-megawatt solar farm combined with grid-scale batteries to ensure continuous power supply. While the total cost of the solar farm project remains undisclosed, the developer, Seven States Power Corporation, has secured $439 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the initiative.
Source: TechCrunch