Judge denies xAI bid to dismiss NAACP lawsuit over Colossus turbines

A federal judge denied xAI’s motion to dismiss the NAACP’s Clean Air Act lawsuit over gas turbines powering its Colossus data center outside Memphis, Anthony Ha reported for TechCrunch. Jackson Chen reported for Engadget that U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown’s decision lets the case proceed.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, which is suing on the NAACP’s behalf, alleges xAI installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution at Colossus without the necessary preconstruction or operating air permits, TechCrunch reported.

xAI argued the turbines were exempt from permitting requirements because they were mobile. It also argued the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. TechCrunch quoted Brown as finding that the plaintiffs had statutory standing under the Clean Air Act and that the turbines were not “mobile sources” under Mississippi’s State Implementation Plan. The decision allows the claims to proceed; it does not establish that xAI operated the turbines without required permits or violated the law.