Tag: xai

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Temporary xAI Turbines To Be Removed in Coming Months

Photo Credit: Southern Environmental Law Center

As the xAI project prepares to enter its second phase, some of the temporary gas turbines will be removed over the next two months.

An announcement from the Greater Memphis Chamber said the project reached “full operational capacity” on Thursday, May 1st, as it is now receiving 150 megawatts of grid power from Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

The chamber said an additional 150 megawatts of Megapack Batteries have been added and will be used in case of an outage or “peak grid demand.”

Prior to connecting to the grid, the company used natural gas turbines as a source of power, which the chamber said are now being demobilized. As the project prepares for Phase II, half of the turbines will remain until a second substation is completed and ready to connect to the electric grid.

Officials said the substation is already in construction and is planned for fall 2025, to which the remaining turbines “will be relegated to a backup power role.”

“xAI is committed to Memphis through their sustainable environmental practices,” the chamber said in a statement. “The company is participating in the Demand Response program as outlined by MLGW and is exploring ways to provide energy to the grid for the benefit of the community, especially in emergency situations or other times of need.”

The gas turbines have been a source of controversy for community members and advocacy groups. Groups such as the Southern Environmental Law Center have criticized xAI for the amount of power these turbines have generated.

“Our analysis shows these turbines together have a power generating capacity of 421 megawatts — comparable to an entire TVA power plant — all constructed and operating unlawfully without any air permit in Southwest Memphis, a community that is profoundly overburdened with industrial pollution,” SELC said in a statement.

The Shelby County Health Department is currently in the process of deciding whether or not they will grant air permits for the gas turbines. Officials said the decision could take weeks, as their next steps are responding to comments made during their official public comment period.

Health department officials have noted that the permit is for 15 permanent turbines, and not 35, which SELC brought attention to in a letter to Michelle Taylor, director and health officer for the Shelby County Health Department.

The announcement of xAI’s connection comes after a resolution was passed on Monday by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners for an update to be given from both TVA and MLGW for the “remaining steps and time necessary to connect xAI to the local utility grid.”

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Young Avenue Deli, xAI Proof, and RiverBeat

Posted to Facebook by Young Avenue Deli

Memphis on the internet.

Young Avenue Deli

The Young Avenue Deli announced it will go 21 and up on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after 10 p.m. in a now-deleted Facebook post from the weekend. The Cooper-Young stalwart said it will also offer free drink covers, increase security, train its staff on handling harassment and misconduct, and conduct a “full internal review on how we operate.” 

“We’ve heard the concerns raised about how we’ve handled misconduct — especially involving the behavior of men in our space — and we recognize that our response has not been good enough,” the restaurant said.

xAI Proof

Posted to Facebook by Southern Environmental Law Center

“Local officials claimed Elon Musk’s xAI facility was only running 15 of their 35 unpermitted gas turbines in South Memphis,” the Southern Environmental Law Center said. “We sent a plane with thermal imaging up to double-check and the thermal images showed that almost all of the polluting turbines are running.”

RiverBeat

Posted to Facebook by RiverBeat Fest

RiverBeat Music Festival drew thousands to the Memphis riverfront last weekend for varied acts from headliner Missy Elliott to Benson Boone to Busta Rhymes and DJ Spliff Star (above).

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xAI Air Permit Decision ‘Could Take Weeks’

Elon Musk. Photo by Trevor Cokley / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Shelby County Health Department’s (SCHD) decision as to whether or not they will grant air permits for xAI’s gas turbines could take weeks, officials said.

During Wednesday’s Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting, Kasia Smith-Alexander, deputy director of SCHD, said that as the public comment period closes, the agency’s next step is to respond to the comment. 

“To give you a timeline on when or if a decision will be made on that permit — probably weeks out, I don’t want to put a date on it,” Smith-Alexander said. 

She noted that on Friday the health department held a public hearing regarding the permits, and since then they had received about 300 additional comments.

Officials said the permit is only for 15 permanent turbines, and not 35, which the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) brought attention to in a letter to Michelle Taylor, director and health officer for the Shelby County Health Department.

At the commission’s  hospitals and health committee meeting, Commissioner Erika Sugarmon sponsored a resolution that asks for an update from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) regarding the “remaining steps and time necessary to connect xAI to the local utility grid.” 

The resolution requests that this update be given by June 1

Smith-Alexander said the permanent turbines are supposed to go on the grid “at some point in time.”

The commissioner said her original intent was to have a six-month moratorium for the operation of the turbines, but was informed this would be a request and not a requirement of the health department.

Megan Smith, a staff member of the county attorney’s office, said there is no legal definition of moratorium “in this process as defined by law.”

“This body only has authority that is granted to it by law,” Smith said. “There is no authority to issue a moratorium on this process.”

Sugarmon went on record and requested that the public comment period be extended as TVA, MLGW, and the Chamber of Commerce have not come before the commission to provide updates on the grid. She also asked for a list of people who signed NDAs

While elected officials are working to stop the turbines, this has not stopped the public from asking the health department to deny the permits.

“We call on Shelby County Health Director Dr. Michelle Taylor and Mayor Lee Harris to deny the permit and shut the xAI plant down,” Rep. Justin J. Pearson said before a “Deny the Permit Rally” held Wednesday. “xAI is poisoning our air, and we are organizing to stop it. We want less pollution, not more. Our health is not for sale.”

Orion Overstreet, a University of Memphis student organizer, said they are watching and researching and promised to keep showing up on the issue.

“The young folks in the city are coming together around this issue,” Overstreet said. “We have all eyes on this right now.”

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News The Fly-By

Shelby County Health Department Hosts Public Meeting on xAI

Last Friday’s public hearing wasto discuss xAI’s gas turbine permit. (Photo: Ward Archer)

Memphis residents and elected officials gathered to voice their opinions on xAI during last Friday’s public hearing hosted by the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD). The hearing, held at Fairley High School, was to discuss xAI’s gas turbine permit.

In early April, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution for the department to host a public hearing prior to the approval or denial of the permit submitted by CTC Property LLC, an affiliate of xAI.

The permit is for the 15 permanent turbines for the South Memphis facility, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups and citizens alike. An April 9th letter from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) to Michelle Taylor, director and health officer for the Shelby County Health Department, said the organization obtained aerial images in March that showed xAI had 35 gas turbines.

“Our analysis shows these turbines together have a power generating capacity of 421 megawatts — comparable to an entire TVA [Tennessee Valley Authority] power plant — all constructed and operating unlawfully without any air permit in Southwest Memphis, a community that is profoundly overburdened with industrial pollution,” SELC said. The turbines have been linked to emitting an estimated 16.7 tons of formaldehyde.

Prior to the hearing, Representative Justin J. Pearson held a press conference urging citizens to be “fired up against the richest man in the room. … This is how we change the course of history,” he said. “This is how we fight those who say we don’t have power. We show up as Black folk and white folk, as folks from South Memphis and North Memphis, and East Memphis, Downtown, and Midtown, saying what is happening to those in 38109 is happening to all of us.”

Aside from environmental and community activists, representatives of the Greater Memphis Chamber were present at last Friday’s meeting. The officials had hosted a webinar days before to address concerns about transparency, water usage, and the turbines.

SCHD’s Taylor told Friday’s audience the purpose of the hearing was to record and hear concerns and comments about the air permit. “What we’re seeking to do today, in addition to getting your comments, is educate the public on the environmental impacts to our communities and encourage all of our elected officials to involve the public in decision making every single time,” Taylor said. “Our community deserves to be educated from a place of truth.”

Prior to opening the comment period, xAI representative Brent Mayo gave a statement but could not be heard over the audience’s booing. “We don’t want you here!” an audience member said.

Commenters, such as KeShaun Pearson, executive director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, criticized officials for not doing enough to protect citizens and praised SELC for their work in providing information.

“It’s time we tell the truth about what political abandonment looks like,” Pearson said. “The truth is there is no support coming from our public institutions who are here to protect us.”

Kelsey Huse, a master’s student studying city planning at the University of Memphis, noted she’d been told she shouldn’t care about pollution in South Memphis but rather crime.

“I’m here to tell you how caring about air pollution is caring about crime,” Huse said. “There are many reasons to be against these turbines, but on the subject of air quality it cannot be disconnected from crime.” Huse cited a study from the University of California-Davis that found wind direction could affect irritability and potentially lead to “poor decision-making.”

Glenda Hicks noted South Memphis communities like Boxtown have consistently been disenfranchised. “We care about lives,” Hicks said. “I care about my people, and if you, the representatives, care about the people of Memphis, do the right thing: Deny this permit. Elon Musk — we do not want him in Memphis.” 

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Greater Memphis Chamber Addresses xAI Concerns During Webinar

Ted Townsend, Kontji Anthony, and Shannon Lynn

The Greater Memphis Chamber attributes their “lack of transparency” regarding the xAI project to market stability and competitive advantage.

“Confidentiality is actually really important when it comes to economic development projects,” Bobby White, chief government affairs officer for the Chamber, said. “We have unfortunately experienced this in the past where projects and information about them have slipped and become public knowledge, and we’ve lost projects.”

These comments were made Wednesday during a webinar hosted by the Greater Memphis Chamber to address community questions about xAI’s turbines, water usage, and more. Media personality Kontji Anthony moderated the conversation and called xAI the biggest economic development project in Memphis history and noted the controversy looming around it.

Residents and elected officials, such as Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton and Representative Justin J. Pearson, have criticized the city and company for the absence of public input and knowledge. Many have voiced concern about the effects it will have on citizens in Southwest Memphis.

Anthony said the purpose of Wednesday’s forum was to clear up misconceptions around the project.

White said some of these misconceptions had been heard repeatedly — specifically those surrounding water usage. He clarified that the company is not using 1 million gallons of water a day to cool the supercomputer. Instead, it is operating on a closed loop system, with no water from the aquifer being used for industrial use.

“Essentially water comes in and cools the supercomputer,” White said. “That closed loop system is why xAI is paying a water bill that’s probably comparable to what you’re paying at your house.”

He estimated that xAI is paying less than $1,000 every month because it is recycling water. He also said the company is building Memphis’ first-ever wastewater recycling facility, marking an $80 million investment.

The Chamber wanted to bring in experts to engage in conversation about gas turbine usage. Recently, the Southern Environmental Law Center ( SELC) found that 35 turbines had been operating near the facility — 20 more than previously reported.

Shannon Lynn, a principal consultant for Trinity Consultants, located in Little Rock, Arkansas, said both the temporary and permanent turbines have sparked concern. Lynn said only 15 are set to be permanent, which the company has submitted permits for.

Lynn noted concerns about formaldehyde, nitric oxide, and dioxide emissions. He said the turbines are natural gas fired and “simple products of combustion.”

“If you burn gas, you’re going to get products of combustion, and that’s what you have with these turbines,” Lynn said.

A viewer asked Lynn if he would feel safe living in close proximity to the turbines. Lynn said he has had experience with this in Arkansas, as a data center was built within two miles of his home. He said if the control technology, equipment, and programs were in place along with working with a regulatory body he would feel safe.

Ted Townsend, president and CEO of the Chamber, said the city is already seeing the positive effects of landing the “world’s largest supercomputer,” representing a “tremendous investment.”

He said this deal has attracted other companies to Memphis, creating more jobs and investments into the Memphis economy.

“Success is now,” Townsend said. “I think over the next five, 10, 20 years you’re gonna see a higher concentration of this tech innovation and we’re really the epicenter of AI computing if you think about having the power of a supercomputer localized right here in Memphis.”

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Southwest Memphis Residents Receive xAI ‘Propaganda’ in Mailboxes

Photo Credit: Rep. Justin Pearson

Residents in Southwest Memphis have reportedly received “fact sheets” from an anonymous organization regarding the xAI turbines operating in their community.

This information comes from Representative Justin J. Pearson’s newsletter “People Power Times”. According to Pearson, a group called “Facts Over Fear” has placed “propaganda” in residents’ mailboxes that claim that the company’s gas turbines are “minor polluters.”

The mail said the turbines are designed to protect the air with “air quality levels similar to those from a neighborhood gas station. It cited that the Environmental Protection Agency refers to facilities like the xAI plant as “minor contributors” to air quality.

 While the group said there are only 15 turbines operating, Pearson said this is false.

“Thanks to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), we know the truth – there are actually 35 gas turbines on site,” Pearson said. “The misinformation being sent to our neighbors conveniently leaves out the 20 additional gas turbines xAI failed to report.”

Pearson referenced an April 9 letter from SELC to Dr. Michelle Taylor, director and health officer for the Shelby County Health Department. The organization said they obtained aerial images in March that showed that xAI has 35 gas turbines.

Photo Credit: Southern Environmental Law Center

“Our analysis shows these turbines together have a power generating capacity of 421 megawatts – comparable to an entire TVA power plant – all constructed and operating unlawfully without any air permit in Southwest Memphis, a community that is profoundly overburdened with industrial pollution.”

The turbines have been linked to emitting an “estimated” 16.7 tons of formaldehyde.

“I am both disgusted and furious that anyone would downplay the harmful impact this plant is having on our air, our health, and our future,” Pearson said.

Southwest Memphis residents have been vocal at town halls, meetings of elected bodies, and on social media about the lack of transparency regarding the project, as well as the impact on their community.  Pearson said many officials have “signed non-disclosure agreements promising to keep xAI’s plans a secret.”

These comments come as the Shelby County Health Department collects public comments from ahead of the Air Pollution Control Permit Application Public Hearing on April 25.

Pearson said he and other residents will continue to hold community leaders accountable for this “shameful legacy of environmental injustice.”

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Politics Politics Feature

Bonfire!

Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump, Friday, October 6, 2017. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)

It’s been a matter of weeks since President Donald Trump single-handedly deprived the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of its quorum, and the giant semi-public utility may come to figure in crucial decisions regarding Elon Musk’s controversial Colossus xAI project in Memphis.

When Trump issued walking papers to two members of an already truncated TVA board, he effectively deprived the board of its ability to vote on policy shifts and other matters of consequence. 

The utility’s rules require the presence of five active and voting members to constitute a quorum. At full strength, the board would number nine directors, but attrition of various kinds over the years had previously reduced the board’s membership to five.

That membership now stands at only four after Trump, in successive acts, fired both Michelle Moore, a well-known “clean power” advocate, and Board Chairman Joe Ritch. The president gave no reasons for either firing, but coincidentally or not, his actions came in the immediate wake of public prodding from Tennessee’s two Republican senators for changes in the Authority’s leadership.

In an op-ed that appeared in the industry periodical Power magazine on March 24th, senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty had expressed doubt that the TVA leadership, as then constituted, was up to the need, as they saw it, of jump-starting a new era of reinvigorated nuclear power.  

“With the right courageous leadership, TVA could lead the way in our nation’s nuclear energy revival, empower us to dominate the 21st century’s global technology competition, and cement President Trump’s legacy as ‘America’s Nuclear President,’” the senators wrote. 

Within days of the op-ed’s publication, the TVA board, then still at quorum strength, if only barely, named the utility’s chief operating officer, Don Moul, to serve as the CEO of TVA. (For what it’s worth, the two senators had wanted a new CEO from outside the Authority’s ranks.) Almost immediately after Moul’s appointment, Trump would fire the two board members, thereby stalling any immediate initiatives on TVA’s part beyond matters of basic maintenance. That would include oversight activity vis-à-vis the energy situation of Memphis.

Ultimately Trump will have the prerogative of restocking the board to quorum strength, with his nominations in theory drawn from all reaches of the Authority’s operating area, which comprises all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. Members, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate, serve five-year terms. 

Created under FDR, TVA is no longer taxpayer-funded but is still federally owned. One way or another, politics plays a major role in its operation, and critics of Musk are increasingly conscious that the contours of the Trump ally’s giant xAI program are rapidly expanding, with its demands on available energy from MLGW mounting well beyond what the original estimates were when Musk acquired the vacant Electrolux property to house the supercomputer last year.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young is now finding himself under fire for his apparent acquiescence with the Musk project. In a blistering letter to Young, Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor criticized the mayor for not imposing stricter air-quality controls on the Colossus project, which is requiring the use of even more gas turbines — potentially as many as 35.

Amid an upsurge in various forums and ad hoc opposition groups, one leader of a burgeoning citizen revolt is Representative Justin Pearson, immersing himself in anti-xAI activities in the manner of his successful 2021 opposition to a gas pipeline. 

More and more obviously, the xAI matter is rising to a potentially dominant status politically, almost on a scale with the city’s No. 1 bugaboo, crime. And uneasiness about the Trump-Musk alliance could be a major part of that concern. 

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Health Department To Hold Public Hearing for xAI Air Permits

Elon Musk. Photo by Trevor Cokley / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A resolution for the Shelby County Health Department to host a public hearing regarding xAI’s air permits has been passed by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners.

The resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Britney Thornton, urged the Shelby County Health Department to host a public meeting “prior to the approval or denial of the permit submitted by CTC Property LLC, an affiliate of xAI for the long-term operations of 15 methane gas turbines in South Memphis.”

Keshaun Pearson, executive director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, said this resolution would suspend the air-permitting process as the permit is not for the “current pollution” but “more pollution,” as xAI intends to bring more turbines in.

Groups such as Young, Gifted, and Green, MCAP, and Black Voters Matter along with several community members have openly condemned the project — with the news of the turbines operating for almost a year further amplifying outrage.

“Elon Musk holds nothing but malice for the people of Memphis [and] Shelby County,” Brandy Price said during the public comment section of the meeting. “To vote in favor of anything that aids Elon Musk will be a stain on yourself.”

Several people have spoken about the environmental risks that the project poses. Jonathan Reid, a resident of South Memphis, urged the commission to not only vote in favor of public hearings, but to “bring science to the table” when evaluating the project.

“I would like to know down the road when Elon Musk do[es] all this gas stuff what’s going to happen to the health of South Memphians?” Barbara Denton, a 72-year resident of South Memphis said. “Health is not being considered. All y’all want is money. It’s all about politics and money when it comes to South Memphis. Why does South Memphis have to get the neglect of being Black – mostly 90 percent? If y’all want to move something, move it Downtown. Let’s move it Downtown and see how it works for you.”

Dr. Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Department of Health, acknowledged the community’s comments and said the public comment period is open now through April 30th. Residents can review xAI’s permit application and leave comments through the department’s website.

“We only can do as much as current legislation allows us to do,” Taylor said. “We did request an EPA community assessment. We requested, twice, in two letters to the EPA in August.  We received a response on November 1 of 2024 saying they could not do the report.”

Taylor assured that the Health Department is committed to being held accountable by both the commission and the community.

The resolution passed 8-3 with one abstaining from voting.

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Organizers Urge County Officials Be Held Accountable for xAI Project

Photo: Black Voters Matter

While many residents have criticized Memphis Mayor Paul Young for the city’s role in Elon Musk’s xAI project, community organizers say Shelby County officials should not only be held responsible, they should intervene as well.

On Monday night, the group Black Voters Matter facilitated a virtual conversation called “Stop the xAI Shelby County Takeover” where KeShaun Pearson of Memphis Community Against Pollution said the Shelby County Health Department is responsible for regulating environmental concerns — which have been at the center of the xAI controversy.

To address this, Pearson met with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris last week about the presence of xAI’s gas turbines — which many did not know had been operating for about a year.

In June 2024, Harris released a statement commending the Greater Memphis Chamber for “leading” the xAI project into fruition and called it a “monumental opportunity for Memphis and Shelby County.”

While Pearson addressed the “atrocity” of the situation, he said Harris is in support of a resolution that is headed to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday before the Commission’s Hospitals and Health Committee.

The resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Britney Thornton, urges the Shelby County Health Department to host a public meeting “prior to the approval or denial of the permit submitted by CTC Property LLC, an affiliate of xAI for the long-term operations of 15 methane gas turbines in South Memphis.”

Pearson said this resolution would suspend the air-permitting process as the permit is not for the “current pollution” but “more pollution,” as xAI intends to bring more turbines in.

“The damage here on a human level in an ecosystem that is trying to flourish, that is so beautiful — it’s so dangerous,” Pearson said. “It’s incumbent, and it’s a responsibility of the people who have signed the paperwork to say they ‘will be employed here and work for the people’ to show up and do that.”

Amber Sherman, local political strategist, said it’s important for people to know “who the power players are” and how these processes work. Sherman’s comments come after MCAP hosted “A Fireside Chat with Mayor Paul Young” on Saturday, March 22nd.

Pearson said the conversation was “representative of what people are feeling,” noting that many people felt “left out of the entire process.” He said he was glad citizens were able to challenge Young on his “positive position” regarding xAI.

Sherman noted that several people wondered why Young “wasn’t doing anything” and felt like Young should have emphasized how “the power works.”

“You’re not throwing someone under the bus to make sure people know who’s responsible,” Sherman said. “Saying that the Shelby County Health Department is the one who issues permits doesn’t throw them under the bus — it just points out the direct target who we should be talking to, so everyone isn’t pissed off at you all the time.”

Pearson noted that while Young may not have all the authority citizens expect him to, he isn’t “absolved” from working on the city’s end.

“What we can’t allow is for people to scapegoat other organizations,” Pearson said. “It is a bit of standing in your power and really using the authority that has been given to you in ways that exist, and not to perform this kind of learned helplessness that ‘we can’t do anything’ [or] ‘I can only do so much.’ Do everything and then get innovative on how to do more.”

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TVA Board Approves Power for xAI Project

Elon Musk. Photo by Trevor Cokley / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons


The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)  board of directors approved the request from Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) to power Elon Musk’s controversial xAI project during a meeting on Thursday.

TVA policy requires the board to approve any project that requires over 100 megawatts of power. According to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), MLGW requested that (TVA) provide 150 megawatts of power to xAI. SELC said this demand is enough to power 100,000 homes. 

Officials from TVA said this load is consistent with their wholesale power contract, and that xAI has agreed to specific demand response terms so that TVA and MLGW can provide power according to the requested timeline.

They added that xAI has “met or exceeded” conditions established by MLGW, including energy storage solution, recycled water solution, and positive community impact.

MLGW CEO Doug McGowen spoke with the TVA board Wednesday about an investment in the water cycling system to reduce reliance on the Memphis Sand Aquifer, TVA officials said. 

When the project was announced, several groups asked city leaders to deny an electricity deal for the project and demanded a public review of the project. A letter from the SELC outlined community concern and condemned McGowen for approving an electricity deal. 

“Recycled water from this system could also be used for cooling water supplying to our Allen Combined Cycle Plant and nearby industrial users – reducing aquifer usage by millions of gallons per day,”  Dan Pratt, senior vice president of regional relations for TVA, said.

Board member Michelle Moore said both MLGW and the Memphis Chamber of Commerce told her of the importance of the xAI project as an economic development for the future of a “digital Delta.” Moore also said they heard from neighbors regarding pollution concerns, specifically on respiratory health.

“We have an obligation to serve our customers — MLGW serves xAI; our obligation is to serve, “ Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of TVA, said. “We can’t say no. We can say when and under what system conditions we can serve that load.”

Lyash went on to say that xAI has agreed to a demand response program that enables them to adjust their load, allowing TVA to approve the request.

“Because we don’t control it, I can’t speculate as to how they will use their generation in the future,” Lyash said. “Once their facilities are complete, then TVA in partnership with MLGW is in a position to supply 150 megawatts of low-cost, clean energy for this phase of their installation.”

In regards to the xAI’s supplemental water treatment facility, Lyash added that at this stage TVA is only aware of what the intent of the project is, and can’t see why it can’t be “brought to reality.”

“I think it’s exciting,” he said. “It’s the right environmental thing. If that facility is brought into reality and the water meets the requirements we need for the Allen Combined Cycle Plant, we would be excited about transitioning our facility to that source.”

The project has been condemned on several fronts from environmental groups to city leaders. Many have condemned the Chamber for its lack of transparency, specifically towards those in the Black community, and said its decision goes against the 17 principles of environmental justice. 

“Construction and other industrial activities at Musk’s facility should be stopped until the community has been given a voice—through open processes conducted by state or local offices with authority over electricity planning (TVA), water system planning (MLGW), or environmental safety (TDEC),” the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said in a statement. “Subverting or ignoring these processes has already led to public outcry, but the true downsides—weaker infrastructure and higher rates of pollution, illness, and other maladies—can still be avoided.”