Drone Footage Shows Musk's AI Power Plant Flouting Clean Air Regulations in Black Community

Images confirm xAI is continuing to defy EPA regulations in Mississippi to power its flagship data centers.

Published on Feb. 19, 2026

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Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI is continuing to fuel its data centers with unpermitted gas turbines, according to a Floodlight visual investigation. Thermal drone footage shows xAI is still burning gas at a facility in Southaven, Miss., despite a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruling reiterating that doing so requires a state permit in advance. State regulators in Mississippi maintain that since the turbines are parked on tractor trailers, they don't require permits, but the EPA has long required that such pollution sources be permitted under the Clean Air Act.

Why it matters

This case highlights the ongoing tensions between federal and state regulators over the environmental impact of the AI industry's rapid expansion. As data centers proliferate across the country, regulators are struggling to keep pace with the industry's increasing reliance on custom-built power sources and their public health impacts on surrounding communities, particularly in marginalized areas.

The details

Thermal drone footage captured by Floodlight shows more than a dozen unpermitted turbines still spewing pollutants at the xAI plant in Southaven nearly two weeks after the EPA's recent ruling. The turbines help power xAI's controversial chatbot Grok and emit harmful pollutants linked to health problems such as asthma, lung cancer and heart attacks. xAI is seeking permits for dozens more turbines in Southaven and has purchased property for a third data center, which would make the Colossus cluster one of the largest data center complexes in the world.

  • On January 15, the EPA reiterated its decades-old policy that such machines need a permit.
  • In late January, thermal drone imagery captured by Floodlight shows some of the 15 permitted turbines operating at xAI's Colossus 1 site in South Memphis.

The players

Waymo

An American autonomous driving company and is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company.

Walker Reed Quinn

A 45-year-old San Francisco resident who has a history of vandalism and was out on bail for prior cases related to Waymo vehicles.

xAI

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company that is continuing to fuel its data centers with unpermitted gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The federal agency that has ruled the gas turbines used by xAI require a state permit under the Clean Air Act, but is struggling to enforce its regulations as state authorities in Mississippi maintain the turbines are exempt.

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality

The state agency that has determined the turbines operated by xAI in Southaven are classified as portable/mobile units and therefore exempt from air permitting requirements, despite the EPA's recent directive.

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What they’re saying

“That is a violation of the law.”

— Bruce Buckheit, Former EPA air enforcement chief

“The risk of living next to this type of power plant is well documented. From the health perspective, we know that this is not good.”

— Shaolei Ren, UC Riverside associate professor specializing in data center health impacts

“For them to be releasing so much pollution in such a populated area, not to mention that there are at least ten schools within a two mile radius of the facility, is really concerning. It's horrifying to me that we're allowing this in our community.”

— Shannon Samsa, Southaven resident

“I do feel like xAi is playing by a different set of rules.”

— Krystal Polk, Southaven resident

“I don't want my children to be growing up around such massive amounts of air pollution. I don't want them to have to live in a place where their health and their overall well-being is not considered over economics.”

— Shannon Samsa, Southaven resident

What’s next

The first and only public hearing on the matter is scheduled for February 17, and the public comment period is still open. The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing tensions between federal and state regulators over the environmental impact of the AI industry's rapid expansion, as well as the disproportionate burden placed on marginalized communities living near these data centers. It raises questions about the industry's commitment to sustainability and the need for stronger enforcement of clean air regulations, particularly in areas with higher levels of existing pollution.