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.”
Elon Musk. Photo by Trevor Cokley / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
On Wednesday, community leaders and advocacy groups here called for more transparency surrounding Elon Musk’s xAI project, a project they openly oppose because of its negative environmental impact and disproportionate effect on minority communities.
These leaders gathered in front of the Downtown Memphis Commission office before a planned private meeting between xAI representative Brent Mayo and the Greater Memphis Chamber. Officials from Protect Our Aquifer, Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), and Young, Gifted & Green released a joint statement saying Mayo has “ignored requests for dialogue and demands for transparency from the community.”
In July, the groups asked city leaders to deny an electricity deal for the project and demanded a public review of the project. A letter from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) outlined community concern and condemned Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW)’s CEO Doug McGowen for approving an electricity deal.
According to SELC, MLGW has requested that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provide 150 megawatts of power to xAI. SELC said this demand is enough to power 100,000 homes. MCAP and Young, Gifted & Green joined the Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter and the Sierra Club Chickasaw Group in signing the SELC’s letter.
Many 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. LaTricea D. Adams, founder, CEO, and president of Young, Gifted & Green, said the Chamber exhibited exclusionary, experimental, and racist practices.
“As a Memphian by choice and birthright I am deeply troubled by the decision made by the [Greater Memphis Chamber] to bring xAI to a Black community with absolutely no community engagement, particularly from the Black residents who will be directly impacted,” Adams said.
Memphis City Council Member Yolanda Cooper-Sutton, representative of District 3, called the company “monstrous” and said it was disappointing to find this out through the media. She said taxpayers deserve to have a seat at the table like the elite of the city.
“We as a people here in Memphis — a predominantly Black city, the poorest of the poorest — have not been allowed to be engaged in this impact that is going to impact our lives, the future of our children, the future of our children’s children, and the future of our children’s children’s children,” Cooper-Sutton said.
Paul Klein, co-chair of the Memphis chapter of the Climate Reality Project, further outlined how minority communities and those living in South Memphis are disproportionately affected by climate change. He said South Memphis has four times the cancer rate compared to the rest of the city and there were 17 toxic release facilities prior to xAI’s announcement.
“We feel that it is imperative to require that xAI put their promises in writing, such as their commitments to enlarge our wastewater treatment plants and then to use only treated wastewater for cooling,” Klein said. “It needs to be in a legally enforceable community benefit agreement.”
KeShaun Pearson, president of MCAP, said the best case scenario is that the Greater Memphis Chamber uses their influence to change how xAI operates in the community and to include the community to influence more sustainable operation. He added they aren’t against economic development but are proponents of ethical operation.
Pearson said they are used to the city making large-scale decisions without consulting with residents. He said he looks at this as an opportunity for the Chamber to “do something different.”
“Unfortunately, this is business as usual,” Pearson said. “We can no longer do business as usual in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. This way of moving does not move us forward. It continuously connects us to fossil fuels. It continuously oppresses the family and communities that need the most support and help.”
Advocates said they will continue to call out organizations that aided in bringing the project to Memphis without the community’s input.
Instagram bot @elonmusksjet tracks Elon Musk’s jet and logged a quick visit here Sunday evening, likely checking in on the mysterious goings-on at xAI’s new supercomputer.
Not mysterious, however, were the details of the flight, according to the bot: 1,025 gallons of jet fuel used, at a cost of about $5,742, and 11 tons of CO2 emissions.
(H/t to u/phoebetoes on Reddit)
Last Lodge
Posted to Facebook by Chris McCoy
“Literally every freak in Memphis is at Black Lodge tonight,” wrote Flyer film and TV editor Chris McCoy of the venue’s final event Saturday.
Spicy
Posted to Facebook by Memphis Police Department
Memphis Police Department arrested a 15-year-old male last week on charges of vandalism between $2,500 and $10,000. The alleged “Spicy” tagger was prolific in the I-240/Poplar area. He even taunted the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), which had apparently covered his previous tags, with the message, “Thx 4 ur service TDOT,” and a heart.
Longtime environmentalist Scott Banbury posted a video to Facebook this week showing “the un-permitted turbines currently running at Elon Musk’s xAI facility in Memphis, spewing low-level ozone-forming emissions into our air that is already out of attainment [of national air quality standards].”
Social Bikin’
Posted to Reddit by u/ChillinDylan901
The Memphis Social Bicycle Club meets every Thursday at 7 p.m. at Veterans Plaza in Overton Park, according to Reddit user ChillinDylan901. “The only important part is to make it to our destination before they run out of beer!” the poster said.
‘Insanely rampant’
Posted to YouTube by Versed
Video essayist Versed compared the Memphis and Nashville economies in a YouTube video in July. The GDP of the cities were both around $65 billion in 2000, he said. Nashville exploded to $136 billion in 2023 versus Memphis’ $69 billion that year. Memphis’ “insanely rampant” crime and a consolidated Nashville government were two reasons given for the difference.
He also mysteriously shows a shot of the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis and pronounces it “Appalakkian Mountains.” So … y’know.
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” — Maya Angelou
Here we are, less than 90 days away from a nation-defining election, and the world’s richest man is showing us who he is, every single day. I’m speaking about Elon Musk, the South African mega-billionaire behind Tesla cars, SpaceX rocketry, and xAI, the world’s largest supercomputer, now operating in Memphis.
Musk also runs X, formerly Twitter, the world’s biggest news and chat app, and herein lies a problem. I’m still using X, sometimes against my better judgment, given the amount of racist, misogynist, and white supremacist content that streams from the site. I delete and block posts (and posters) every single day, but there’s always a steady torrent of horrible content, much of it generated by bots and AI.
So why am I still on X? Because it’s still the best place for an information junkie like me to get breaking news. I follow all the major news outlets’ X accounts, plus a couple thousand journalists and writers whose views and reporting I respect, as well as lots of local folks with smart (and often funny) takes on Memphis politics, sports, food, and entertainment. Still, it’s a flood of information, much of it worthless or worse, and you have to be diligent in mining the diamonds from the dreck.
Even when X was Twitter, before Musk bought it for a sweet $44 billion and changed the name, it had lots of crap posts, but the policing of intentional disinformation and vile Nazi-ish stuff was better, and it was usually taken down quickly. Now, not so much. That’s mainly because Musk has taken a hands-on approach to the site, and under the guise of “free speech,” he is consciously permitting, and even encouraging, posts that traffic from the far fringes of the right-wing, white supremacist world.
And it’s not like he’s hiding his intentions. He’s got 194 million followers! (When you join X, you get Musk’s posts and reposts automatically, unless you intentionally unfollow him.) His personal account is a fount of racism, misleading statistics, and outright lies. Often, Musk posts an obviously racist meme and asks — a la Tucker Carlson — “Is this true? Just asking.”
Musk is a Trump supporter, of course. He often reposts anti-Kamala Harris tropes, including those that are obviously false or misleading. On Monday, he hosted Trump for a two-hour “interview” on X, during which Musk lavished praise and admiration for Trump’s “honesty,” among other insane comments. Musk’s politics would be anathema to most of the residents of this decidedly blue city, I suspect, but make no mistake, Musk is here, and in a big way. Needless to say, I’m not a fan, either. He seems weirdly and dangerously unbalanced.
And speaking of fans (and clumsy segues), Musk is now running a bunch of non-permitted gas turbines to power his Memphis supercomputer from its site in South Memphis. They are noisy and are sending gassy fumes into the atmosphere 24 hours a day. I urge you to read Sam Hardiman’s well-reported Daily Memphian story from last Saturday.
Citing a “source close to the company … who is not authorized to speak publicly,” the DM said xAI had determined it had the right to run the non-permitted turbines for 364 days. The DM story also quoted the Greater Memphis Chamber on the matter: “XAI obtained official guidance that based on federal, state, and local regulations that permitting would not be required for this temporary solution to use turbines for testing its supercomputer.” How nice. Let’s hope this deal works out for the benefit of the city, and not just for xAI. I have my doubts. Musk is just not a Memphis kind of guy. He’s a Trump kind of guy, with similar baggage.
Need more proof? Consider this recent Musk repost from Daniel Concannon, the self-titled “World’s Most Unbearably White Man”: “White people have been taught that white people are evil and everyone else is good. Non-white people have been taught that white people are evil and everyone else is good. That’s not divide and conquer. That’s ‘Kill Whitey.’” Musk added a single comment: “True.”
Elon Musk is showing us who he is, folks. It would behoove Memphis — and the rest of the world — to believe him.
Elon Musk. Photo by Trevor Cokley / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
(This story was originally published by The Institute for Public Service Reporting Memphis.)
Is Memphis moving too fast in its negotiations with Elon Musk?
The question troubles environmentalists like Sarah Houston as Musk fast-tracks plans to open an energy-intensive xAI supercomputer here later this summer.
“Data centers like this come with a lot of questions,’’ said Houston, executive director of the nonprofit group Protect Our Aquifer. Houston and others are concerned about xAI’s impact on Memphis’ resources.
The artificial intelligence plant already under development in southwest Memphis will require enough electricity to power 100,000 homes and consume up to 1.5 million gallons of water a day to cool equipment.
Negotiations between Musk, the Greater Memphis Chamber, and city-owned Memphis Light, Gas & Water have moved swiftly and behind closed doors since the tech billionaire and his team first approached local officials in March.
Supporters view xAI as a catalyst for Memphis to become a technology hub that could infuse hundreds of new jobs and millions of investment dollars into the local economy. That includes the potential for other Musk-owned businesses to set up shop here.
But a litany of questions has unfolded about xAI’s energy use and environmental impact since negotiations became public last month. In response, Musk’s swiftly evolving plans have incorporated measures to allay those concerns.
Among them is a plan to build a 150-megawatt substation to reduce the chance of any future power brownouts or blackouts. Talks also are underway to build a gray water facility that would use treated wastewater rather than precious drinking water to cool xAI’s equipment.
Still, critics say the discussions spearheaded by the chamber and MLGW are proceeding with too little public input.
“This is a terrible idea for Memphis. MLGW’s CEO is not elected, and neither is anybody in the Chamber of Commerce last time I checked,” said state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, whose district includes the industrial swath of land where xAI is located. “It’d be really wonderful if people who are unelected did start to talk to people who are elected to represent the communities that they’re seeking to do business in, because they would have heard from our community that we don’t want this.”
Environmentalists urge caution. They point to Texas, where two Musk-founded companies received wide criticism in 2022 for proposing to dump treated wastewater into Texas’ Colorado River.
“It’s just like, they need to be forced to do the right thing,’’ said Chap Ambrose, a Texas computer programmer and environmental activist who lives next door to two Musk-owned companies, SpaceX and Boring.
Knoxville-based activist Stephen Smith, who is no fan of Musk, says he sees a huge opportunity for Memphis if it takes the time to carefully structure this deal. That includes holding Musk, best known for development of Tesla electric vehicles and rocket manufacturer SpaceX, accountable to the public.
“The negatives could very well turn into positives,’’ said Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
Water concerns
Water falling at Sheahan Water Pumping Station in December 2023. (Karen Pulfer Focht)
The announcement of xAi immediately triggered concerns about Memphis’ drinking water — sourced directly from the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which contains some 57 trillion gallons of millennia old, pristine water, a point of civic pride and the envy of many other cities.
There’s little chance of depleting that.
Even if xAI requires 1.5 million gallons of water a day — MLGW’s highest estimate —that would add only 1% to the city’s total daily draw on the aquifer.
“I’m not concerned with the quantity, I’m concerned with the quality,’’ said Daniel Larson, director of the University of Memphis’ Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research or CAESER.
Larson and others say a more realistic concern is that xAI’s demand for water could accelerate contamination of the Memphis Sand Aquifer.
The proposed xAI center would draw water from the Davis Wellfield in southwest Memphis, an industrial area that includes TVA’s Allen power plant and the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
CAESER studies have found large quantities of arsenic in the shallow aquifer above the Davis Wellfield. Studies also have identified cracks or breaches in the thick layer of clay separating the shallow and larger Memphis Sand aquifers.
“With an increased demand of one million or 1.3 million gallons of draw down, the question becomes what happens to the known contaminates just above our drinking water, like arsenic?’’ said Protect Our Aquifer’s Houston.
The greater risk of contamination could be alleviated by development of a gray water system that would use treated wastewater, rather than water from the aquifer, to cool xAI’s equipment.
MLGW is developing plans to build a gray water treatment facility to serve xAI and other industrial customers. Musk and his team are considering building their own gray water system, possibly by January, according to The Daily Memphian.
Amanda Garcia, a lead attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, remains skeptical. “I’m concerned about a lack of commitment on the part of xAI in their use of reclaimed water,” she said. “We’ve seen other industrial users come in and say, ‘Oh, we’re going to use reclaimed water,’ and then back out of that commitment.”
Deficient Community Outreach
The former Electrolux plant at 3231 Paul R. Lowry Road where Musk is developing his xAI “gigafactory of compute”. (Karen Pulfer Focht)
Garcia’s concerns highlight a disconnect between xAI and the larger Memphis public. Companies that move to Memphis often forgo direct communication with neighborhoods surrounding their operations, and xAI is no exception.
To date, representatives with xAI have not held any townhall-style meetings with their neighboring communities. Media also cannot reach xAI directly. The company told the Memphis Chamber of Commerce that reporters can post their questions on X.
No representative responded to the Institute for Public Service’s questions posted on the public social media platform.
The lack of direct access means Memphians must learn about xAI through MLGW updates or an anonymous source that works exclusively with The Daily Memphian, which posts many of their xAI updates behind a paywall.
Houston said it would be up to organizations like Protect Our Aquifer to sustain pressure on xAI and Memphis officials to “keep the community informed and engaged on how we can truly ensure that this company follows through on a lot of really great things they said in the media. Because that’s not the track record the ownership (of xAI) has shown in the past.”
State Rep. Justin J. Pearson in southwest Memphis in March 2023. (Karen Pulfer Focht)
State representative Pearson says Musk can’t be trusted. He’s equally skeptical of local decision-makers securing the xAI deal, saying they haven’t given residents of Southwest Memphis — an area already disproportionately burdened by industrial pollutants — much thought.
“Our resources are continuously extracted for the benefit of companies. And our community is not feeling any of those benefits,” Pearson said.
Checkered record
Critics’ concerns include the checkered environmental history of Musk companies in other parts of the country.
Business Insider reported earlier this year that Tesla’s “gigafactory” in Austin took advantage of a new Texas law that allowed the company to exempt itself from the city’s environmental regulations. While Musk promised an “ecological paradise” when Tesla first moved to town, the company appears to be free to skirt regulations meant to ensure one.
Two other Musk-founded companies received an outpouring of criticism last year for attempting to dump treated wastewater into Texas’ Colorado River, which flows southeast through the state, into the Gulf of Mexico, and is separate from the Colorado River that drains the southwestern United States.
When Chap Ambrose, a computer programmer, watched The Boring Company slowly come to life in the cow pasture across the way from his house in the rural countryside east of Austin, he was initially excited.
He was a fan of Musk. He signed up for the yet-to-be released Cyber Truck and subscribed to the Musk-founded Starlink internet service. That was in 2021.
Today, Ambrose serves as an informal watchdog over The Boring Company. The company specializes in building underground tunnel infrastructure meant to alleviate surface-level traffic, among other functions.
Ambrose and some of his neighbors took issue with The Boring Company and another nearby, Musk-founded company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., attempting to dump treated wastewater in the Texas Colorado River.
The Boring Company had applied for a permit to treat wastewater and release it onto its land or into the river, the Washington Post reported. The firm planned to build its own wastewater treatment plant without connecting to a treatment system run by the nearby city of Bastrop, The Post reported. Under public pressure it reportedly later dropped the plan and agreed to connect to the city system.
Monitoring the two companies is tedious, Ambrose said. “(It) continues to be an exercise of documenting and learning how these things work and how the regulations are split up across half a dozen different agencies. [You learn] who you have to talk to, where and what they care about, and what other people care about,” he said.
Following a series of complaints, the company received its first fine earlier this year from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, just under $12,000 for ineffective erosion control at construction sites and illegal dumping of storm water.
Ambrose’s advice for Memphians concerned about xAI’s potential impacts in Southwest Memphis is simple.
“Learn what will be cheap and easy for xAI, and what regulations stand in the way,” said Ambrose. “That will give you a start.”
Megapacks
Doug McGowen, president and CEO of MLGW, told members of the Memphis City Council on July 9 that xAI plans to build a 150 megawatt substation.
McGowen’s update included another way that xAI would impact Memphis’ occasionally strained power grid: Megapacks — a proprietary development by Tesla. Megapacks are shipping container-sized battery packs.
The Tesla dealership on Germantown Parkway near Wolfchase Galleria (Marc Perrusquia)
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s Smith said the use of Megapacks would ease concerns about the need for brownouts.
“With the battery packs, they have developed this software that seamlessly integrates into the electric grid. You can charge those battery packs up at night or off-peak times, and then you can deploy them over an extended period of time during peak,” Smith said.
Megapacks could significantly reduce the strain on MLGW’s system during times of peak demand. And, from Smith’s view, a commitment from xAI to enhance the power grid’s capabilities could ultimately help MLGW break up with the Tennessee Valley Authority, which would be the biggest benefit possible with xAI, he said.
For myriad reasons, Smith has long advocated for MLGW to leave TVA. TVA produces the electricity that MLGW buys and distributes. Smith says TVA is the biggest obstacle to investing in renewable sources of energy in the southeast region.
“xAI has the potential to breakthrough a lot of antiquated thinking,’’ Smith said.
“If the mayor, if Doug McGowen, if city council say, ‘Welcome to our community. Yes, we want you to figure out a way for it to work for both on the water and the energy side and be a sustainable leader. But we also want to partner with you to think bigger about what is possible in Memphis.’”
On July 22, Musk posted on X the xAI supercomputer powered up, and training with supporting employees had begun.
Elon Musk. Photo by Trevor Cokley / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Memphians still don’t have many details on xAI’s massive supercomputer project planned for Memphis, though a recent $700 million data center deal for X in Atlanta may offer some clues.
What we don’t know is:
• How much will the company actually invest here? (It’s been touted as “multibillion” and the “largest single capital investment in Memphis history.”)
• What exactly will the so-called Gigafactory of Compute do? (It’s proposed to power X’s Grok artificial intelligence. But how that will happen in Memphis remains hazy.)
• How many employees and new jobs will the project bring to Memphis? (Speculation says about 200 hundred jobs. But no one in the public is yet certain.)
• What will the real economic impact of the project be for Memphis?
• What will local leaders offer to the company in incentives to bring them here?
Many of the questions were slated to be answered next week. The project was supposed to go before the Memphis-Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) on Wednesday, June 19. Officials cancelled that meeting in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. So, locals could be left waiting for a month for answers on xAI, unless EDGE calls a special meeting.
In the meantime, I took a suggestion from someone on the Memphis subreddit. (I couldn’t find the comment or I would’ve given you a shoutout). For what could happen in Memphis, they suggested looking to Atlanta.
Atlanta case study
X Corp. (not xAI) proposed to build a $700 million data center there in December. It already had a data center in the city and another in Portland, according to WSB-TV Atlanta. Incentive packages would decide whether the company brought its big, new project to Portland, Oregon or Atlanta.
“Either location, in addition to similar alternative locations, could serve as the near-term location for this infrastructure investment,” reads the company’s application to Develop Fulton, Atlanta’s EDGE equivalent. “The incentive is a critical part of the analysis and decision process of whether to locate the equipment in Atlanta, Portland, or other locations.”
For the new Atlanta project, the company asked Develop Fulton to approve a $700 million inducement and final bond resolution “to acquire, install and create the next generation of high-performance computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) products for the X platform.” The company also asked for a tax break of more than $10.1 million over 10 years.
Taxes for the project in its first year were promised to be more than $4 million. Taxes over the project’s first 10 years would be more than $16.5 million.
The project would retain 24 jobs in Atlanta, not create new jobs. X Corp. predicted an overall economic impact of the project to be more than $241.7 million in 10 years.
The economic impact figure changed, though, from when X first brought the project to Develop Fulton, according to WSB-TV. The company’s original pitch to the board said the economic impact for the project would be more than $1 billion, way higher than the updated $241.7 million figure:
Credit: Develop Fulton/ X application from DecemberCredit: Develop Fulton/ X application from January
X Corp.’s proposal ended in a deadlock from the Develop Fulton board in December. The vote came after the board “got an earful from opposed residents,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
One board member, Laura Kurlander-Nagel, said the X platform’s value dropped by more than half after xAI founder Elon Musk bought it. For her it was a concern and she voted against the project, according to London-based Data Centre Dynamics blog.
The Atlanta site, northwest of Downtown on Jefferson Street, was once proposed for another data center. Kansas-based Quality Technology Services (QTS) wanted to build a center there but asked Develop Fulton for a $45 million tax break over 10 years. The board voted against it, and, apparently, QTS moved on.
However, when the X project came back before Develop Fulton in January, it passed with that $10.1 million tax break included. Two board member voted against it.
Data boom
Data centers are booming in Georgia’s capital city. Atlanta City Council member Jason Dozier said the market is growing faster there than in any other U.S. city. Construction for data centers in Atlanta grew by 211 percent, Dozier said, from 2022 to 2023.
This is partly why he and council member Matt Westmoreland proposed a ban on building them close to transit stations and the Atlanta BeltLine. It was unclear whether the ban had yet passed.
1/ Excited to introduce legislation alongside @WestmorelandATL to address the rapid growth of data centers in Atlanta. Atlanta's data center market is booming faster than any other in the US. From 2022 to 2023, data center projects under construction increased by a whopping 211%. pic.twitter.com/m49mTo44Pv
“Despite their growth, data centers don’t create many local jobs compared to other sectors,” Dozier tweeted in mid-May. “This limits economic benefits for our communities. Their existence presents a trade-off, diverting resources and focus away from alternative, people-oriented development priorities.
Their existence presents a trade-off, diverting resources and focus away from alternative, people-oriented development priorities.
Atlanta City Council member Jason Dozier
“Additionally, the energy demand of these centers is substantial, oftentimes equivalent to an entire natural gas plant’s output, further stressing our fragile electric grid.
“By prohibiting new data centers near transit and the Atlanta BeltLine, we aim to preserve these vital corridors for people-oriented priorities like housing, retail, transportation, and green spaces.
“It’s time to ensure that our city’s growth is sustainable and equitable for all residents. Let’s work together to shape Atlanta’s future in a way that prioritizes the needs of our communities and that benefits all Atlantans.”
But urban Atlantans aren’t the only ones with qualms over data centers in the Peach State. Georgia state lawmakers voted to temporarily suspend a tax break on equipment for data centers, according to the Associated Press. The legislation followed a monthslong review of all of the state’s many tax breaks and incentive programs.
The bill gained traction as Georgia Power reported a massive spike in electricity demand, and the data center industry accounted for 80 percent of that growth, it said. Also, one lawmaker also cited a 2022 state audit report that found that the tax exemption for data centers returned 24 cents on the dollar.
However, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp vetoed the legislation in May. He said the bill’s July 1 deadline would have interrupted “projects that are already in development — undermining the investments made by high-technology data center operators, customers, and other stakeholders in reliance on the recent extension, and inhibiting important infrastructure and job development.”
Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Director G Webber called the move “beyond disappointing.”
“The surge in the demand for power from data centers is propping up old coal plants and causing a rush to build new gas infrastructure,” Webber said in a statement. “As a result, Georgia communities will see higher levels of air and water pollution, and our fight to curb the worst effects of climate change is hampered. Kemp is burying his head in the sand by refusing to address an issue already having such a significant impact on our state.”
The Memphis subreddit buzzed with the Elon news. Opinions were mixed.
User u/ThiccAssCrackHead said, “It means he will be using 1 million gallons of aquifer water per day while only employing 25-45 people that are brought in from out of state. Ask Atlanta how theirs is going.”
U/Delway said, “It’s a start. It will hopefully attract other tech companies with high paying jobs. … fiber optic network infrastructure will be sped up. High paying Jobs to retrofit the facility. Inspire our local youth.”
But one suggestion seems like something we can all agree on. Reddit user u/mylogicistoomuchforu said, “Elon Musk is building a supercomputer in Memphis. We got to call it the ManeFrame.”
Elon Musk. Photo by Trevor Cokley / Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Environmental groups cautioned leaders on the effects — especially on electricity and water use — of the xAI facility announced Wednesday.
The tech company owned by Elon Musk plans to build the world largest supercomputer in Memphis. The announcement drew acclaim from area leaders for its promise of economic development.
Protect Our Aquifer, Memphis Community Against Pollution, and Young Gifted & Green said in a joint statement late Wednesday that, while they are thankful of tech industries’ interest in Memphis, facilities like xAI have environmental consequences.
Cloud-computing facilities like these use a lot of electricity for massive air conditioning units and generators, creating a high carbon footprint, the groups said. The Musk facility is expected to use enough electricity to power 100,000 homes.
“Before we welcome xAI with open arms, we must consider how an industry using such a tremendous amount of electricity will further impact communities already overwhelmed with pollution and a high energy burden, such as those around the xAI facility in Southwest Memphis,” reads the statement. “The energy burden measures how much of a family’s income goes to paying their utility bill. The national average is three percent, but in Memphis, the average is 27 percent. Will xAI bear the cost of TVA’s (Tennessee Valley Authority) fuel adjustment fee in times of high energy demand?
“More so, with our recent history of severe weather events and rolling blackouts, TVA and Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) must work closely with this facility to keep energy use off peak demand hours.”
The facility is also expected to need a million gallons of water each day for its cooling towers, they said. That water would come from the MLGW Davis Wellfield in Southwest Memphis, the groups said. The wellfield is where the Byhalia Connection Pipeline was to split and where levels of arsenic have been detected in shallow groundwater, they said.
“We encourage xAI to support investment in a city of Memphis wastewater reuse system to reduce strain on our water supply and drinking water infrastructure,” the statement said.
The air quality impacts of such a facility are unknown, they said. But they called on the Shelby County Health Department to to measure it and other environmental impacts of the xAI facility.
“Lastly, xAI should immediately consider the inclusion of binding community benefits agreements that enshrine its obligations to the local community, including targeted hiring, apprenticeship programs, and funding for neighborhood revitalization efforts,” the groups said. “We encourage Elon Musk and xAI to build solar for the site and invest in a greywater reuse facility to reduce the strain on the water supply and electric grid along with hiring from low-income and disadvantaged communities to boost the local economy.”
