Court allows the NAACP lawsuit against xAI over data-center gas turbines to proceed
Prepared by Sintelligent with the help of SI. Published in SI: . Updated: .
Power supply for a large SI data center is becoming subject to judicial review: companies will have to prove the legality of their chosen generation method, not just the capacity of their equipment.
Federal Judge Debra Brown denied xAI's motion to dismiss the NAACP lawsuit under the Clean Air Act. The plaintiffs, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, allege that xAI and MZX Tech operated gas turbines powering the Colossus data centers near Memphis without the necessary permits. The company sought dismissal, calling the turbines mobile sources exempt from permitting requirements and challenging the NAACP's standing to bring such a suit. The judge ruled that the turbines are not considered mobile sources under Mississippi's rules, that the plaintiffs have statutory standing, and that the citizen-suit mechanism does not violate the US Constitution. The claims will now be considered on their merits; the court previously also denied the Department of Justice's motion to dismiss the case.
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