A federal judge refused to dismiss the NAACP's suit saying xAI ran gas turbines at its Memphis-area data center without required air permits.
A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit accusing xAI of running gas-burning turbines at its Memphis-area data center without the air permits the law requires. The suit was brought by the NAACP. It will now move forward.
The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, says xAI installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other pollution sources at its Colossus site without the needed permits. Turbines are engines that burn gas to make electricity. The suit says this violates the Clean Air Act. xAI is owned by SpaceX.
xAI asked for dismissal. It argued the turbines are mobile and so exempt from permits, and that the plaintiffs had no standing, meaning no right to sue. It also argued that citizen lawsuits like this are unconstitutional. Judge Debra M. Brown rejected each argument and ruled the turbines are not "mobile sources."
The ruling does not decide whether xAI broke the law. It only lets the case continue. The report does not say when a trial might happen. TechCrunch has asked SpaceX for comment. A similar motion to dismiss from the Department of Justice was denied earlier this month.
The case comes as public opinion appears to have turned against data centers. New York recently passed a moratorium on new ones, and other states and local governments are weighing similar steps.
The xAI pollution case will go on, and it may shape what permits data centers need to run their own power.
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