Despite overwhelming public opposition, Mississippi regulators on Tuesday approved an operating permit for 41 gas-powered turbines to run at xAI’s Southaven power plant.

The new turbines will help power Grok, xAI’s controversial chatbot. A recent Floodlight visual investigation confirmed the plant was operating more than a dozen of the 27 unpermitted turbines already located at the site. The Environmental Protection Agency has long required that such pollution sources be permitted under the Clean Air Act. However, Mississippi regulators maintained that because the turbines are parked on tractor trailers, they don't require permits for the first year in operation. 

The permit granted to xAI this week is for 41 additional turbines at the site that will operate continuously. The machines could emit more than 6 million tons of greenhouse gases and over 1,300 tons of harmful air pollutants every year, according to xAI’s permit application — making the expanded facility one of the largest fossil fuel power plants in the state.

Southaven residents have described being bombarded by ceaseless noise and pollution from the 114-acre site for months. Hundreds turned out to a February hearing to denounce the project and xAI’s plans to expand the site, and not a single community member spoke in support of the project at the Tuesday hearing. 

Advocacy groups like the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center criticized the seven-member permitting board after their unanimous vote to approve the permit.

“Mississippi state regulators appear to be more interested in fast-tracking xAI’s personal power plant than conducting a thorough review of its impacts and having meaningful engagement with the families that will be forced to live with this dirty facility — and its pollution — in their communities,” said Patrick Anderson, a senior attorney with the SELC.

The final permit was approved at a hearing in Jackson — nearly three hours from Southaven — held on an election day. 

Floodlight spoke with several residents after the hearing for their reactions (their quotes have been lightly edited for clarity). 

Shannon Samsa, physician’s assistant, executive director of the Southaven-based Safe and Sound Coalition.

“I’m disappointed, but not surprised. It was pretty obvious this permit was going to be pushed through at any cost. It feels like the decision had already been made before the public hearing last month, no matter what residents said. 

“That being said, I do want to be clear that this is not the fault of my community. We did our part. We spoke up, raised concerns, and tried to warn them. We did not create this situation or approve this project.

“The people who had the power to stop this project chose not to. The consequences of this decision do not belong to me or to any of the residents who tried to warn them. They belong to the officials and agencies who approved this project anyway, and they will have to live with that on their conscience, not us.

“My husband and I are probably going to relocate after I start my career later this year. I don’t know that we’ll move completely out of DeSoto County just yet, but we’ll definitely be trying to put some distance between us and xAI as soon as we possibly can. We were hoping to stay in the same apartment that we’ve been in for nearly 10 years for a few more years, so that we could save up to buy a house and have children, as well as pay my student loans down. But that doesn’t seem like a realistic or safe option for us anymore.”

Jason Haley, Southaven resident

“I expected them to approve it. Our concerns aren’t taken seriously. There’s too much money involved to worry about the current and future impact on people. One of the guys on the board announced his retirement right after approving it.”

Krystal Polk, Southaven resident

“The asking of public concerns and comments were just a formality. The decision was already made. Musk is allowed to play by a different set of rules, and money and power can buy anything at this moment, even at the risk of human health. 

“I am disappointed and disheartened that no one on the board had the courage to stand for what was right. It was not in their backyard and therefore they believe it does not affect them. I pray no one they know becomes a statistical number from the detrimental effects of the power plant.

“But I will not give up fighting for myself and others.”