Nearby communities gain a concrete timetable for cleaner operations after SpaceXAI announced it will remove the unpermitted gas turbines powering its data center near Memphis, Tennessee by July 2027.
The company update, first noted by TechCrunch, says removal will begin in August 2026 under an agreed order with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and conclude in July 2027. SpaceXAI currently relies on 69 temporary gas turbines and plans to replace them with a new 1.2GW power plant in Mississippi that is being built under a Clean Air Act permit.
The turbines are at the center of a lawsuit filed by the NAACP in April, which alleges the equipment violated the Clean Air Act and exposed nearby residents to hazardous pollution linked to asthma, respiratory disease, heart failure and cancer. The Justice Department filed to dismiss the NAACP suit in June, but court activity has continued.
SpaceXAI pushed back on the health concerns in its latest statement, saying its current data "shows that local air quality continues to meet or exceed EPA standards." The company acquired xAI in February 2026 and has integrated those operations into a broader infrastructure push that includes data centers and its existing space and satellite businesses.
Agreeing to remove the temporary turbines eases an immediate environmental and legal pressure point for communities and regulators, but it does not appear to alter the company’s expansion plans. SpaceX has already secured deals to provide data center capacity to Anthropic and Google, indicating demand for the new power plant’s output.
What happens next is straightforward and consequential: turbine removal starts August 2026 under the Mississippi order, the replacement 1.2GW plant proceeds under a Clean Air Act permit, and the NAACP lawsuit continues to advance through the courts. For residents, regulators and corporate partners, the coming year will show whether the planned transition reduces local pollution and resolves the legal dispute.
