Groups appeal permit allowing xAI turbines in Southaven

Jason Haley of Southaven, MS, gave public comment against the Southaven turbines permit for xAI that MDEQ Permit Board approved later in the meeting.

Environmental groups are pushing back against xAI's use of turbines at its Southaven power plant.

On April 9, the NAACP, Young Gifted & Green and the Safe and Sound Coalition appealed the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) approval of an operations permit for 41 turbines at xAI's 2875 Stanton Road facility in Southaven. (The appeal was filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the aforementioned entities.)

On March 10, the MDEQ Permit Board approved a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit for the use of 41 turbines at the Stanton Road site. The March 10 permit approval came after the Southern Environmental Law Center provided two emails between MDEQ and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff that highlighted urgency between the state and federal institutions to rush finalization on the permit.

In the April 9 appeal, the Southern Environmental Law Center alleges that there are "significant permit deficiencies that render the PSD Permit unlawful." Those allegations include a failure to implement standards that would mitigate major emissions and pollutants, inadequate air dispersion modeling and pollution impacts, a lack of consideration for clean turbines and emissions technology, and a violation of the Mississippi Open Meetings Act by "failing to describe with sufficient specificity the basis for going into executive session during deliberation."

The appeal process will go through MDEQ's Permit Board.

MDEQ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"MDEQ's rushed approval of this flawed air permit raises serious concerns about transparency, regulatory accountability, and whether the public is truly being heard in decisions that directly affect our health and environment," Safe and Sound Coalition co-founder Shannon Samsa said in a statement. "Those with the authority to protect us had every opportunity to slow this process down, fully evaluate the risks, and ensure meaningful public involvement. Instead, they chose to push it forward."

Samsa and the Safe and Sound Coalition have been a Southaven advocacy group voicing concerns over xAI's expansion in North Mississippi, including air and noise pollution concerns associated with the company's Stanton Road facility since summer 2025.

The 41 turbines are intended to help power xAI's Colossus 2 data center, located across state lines in Memphis' Whitehaven neighborhood. According to the permit application approved by MDEQ, the turbines would produce up to 21.54 tons of hazardous air pollution (HAP) annually via uncontrolled emissions. That figure would be reduced to 19.07 tons of HAP annually. The turbines will emit 6.4 million tons of greenhouse gases. (The permit application was curated by Arkansas-based Trinity Consultants on behalf of MZX Tech LLC.)

MZX Tech LLC purchased the former Duke Energy site at 2875 Stanton Road site in July 2025. That purchase included the surrounding 114 acres. In December 2025, MZX Tech acquired an adjacent 104-acre site including an 810,258-square-foot warehouse at 2400 Stateline Road. On Jan. 8, xAI and Mississippi officials formally announced plans for a third xAI data center at the Stateline Road warehouse called, Macrohardrr.

The Stanton Road site is expected to provide power for xAI's data centers (both Colossus 2 and future data center sites within the area including Macrohardrr).

The approved permit does not include 27 turbines that have been active at the Stanton Road site. In August 2025, MDEQ allowed the use of 16 unpermitted turbines at the Southaven site. That figure increased to 27 in December 2025, according to email correspondence between Trinity Consultants and MDEQ representatives.

In January, the EPA updated the Clean Air Act, requiring permits for all combustion and stationary turbines, including temporary ones.

Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at [email protected], 901-426-0679.