DOJ Defends xAI’s Unpermitted Gas Turbines on National Security Grounds The Biden administration is asking a federal court to let xAI keep running dozens of gas-fired turbines near Memphis, arguing that shutting them down would threaten U.S. security even as civil rights groups say the project worsens pollution in a vulnerable community.

Early warnings and growing turbine use

The NAACP began signaling plans to sue xAI in June of last year, seeking to halt the company’s use of “mobile” gas turbines at its Colossus and Colossus 2 data centers outside Memphis. Those efforts did not stop expansion. Since 2025, xAI has more than doubled the number of trailer-mounted units at the site to 57, contending that keeping them on trailers exempts them from Mississippi air rules for a year.

Local advocates, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, argue the turbines function as stationary sources and therefore must comply with federal and state air regulations. They say air quality has deteriorated in what is already “one of the most polluted” regions in the country, citing increased levels of PM2.5, formaldehyde, and nitrogen oxides, pollutants linked to asthma, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.

DOJ steps in on national security grounds

In April, the NAACP formally filed suit to stop xAI’s use of the unpermitted turbines near its Memphis-area facilities. On Monday, the Department of Justice moved to intervene on xAI’s side, asking the court to dismiss the case.

The DOJ memorandum argues the gas-powered data center is “necessary for national security,” because xAI’s Grok model is one of four AI systems that support “mission-critical operations,” including recent U.S. military strikes in Iran. Preventing xAI from using the turbines would, it says, undermine “American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations.”

Clash of priorities and what comes next

The dispute has become a test case for how far Washington will go to protect AI infrastructure tied to defense. Civil rights and environmental advocates frame the case as a fight against illegal pollution and environmental racism, while the DOJ frames it as a bid to safeguard military capabilities.

SpaceX, which now owns xAI, has told investors it plans to buy another $2.8 billion in gas turbines for AI data centers over the next three years, suggesting that the outcome in Memphis could shape similar projects nationwide.

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