The xAI supercomputer under construction in Memphis has blown into a full scale civic war of words after it was discovered that the company had violated a temporary permit from the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) to install 15 portable methane gas turbines to power the site, but had actually put in 35 of the machines without permission.
Owned by billionaire Elon Musk, the space age inventor and industrialist currently said to be the wealthiest man in the world, and a Trump Administration employee heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the information was brought to light by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), which released an infrared aerial photograph showing the violation.
The information hit the city like a cold slap in the face, especially in the overwhelmingly black 38109 zip code where xAI is located. Led by Dist. 86 Rep. Justin Pearson and brother Keshaun Pearson, head of Memphis Citizens Against Pollution (MCAP), citizens and environmental activists have been repeatedly calling out the city’s mayors, both black, and SCHD Director Dr. Michelle Taylor to block xAI from continuing use of the machines, claiming that their use is environmental racism of the worst kind, and the fact that there are twice the number of machines as allowed is a clear indication that the company cannot be trusted to continue.
SCHD sponsored a community forum Friday, April 25 with xAI representative Brent Mayo that turned confrontational and angry. Leading to Mayo’s walking out after delivering prepared remarks. Generating additional public response, it was followed up with a protest in front of SCHD’s headquarters Wednesday, April 30 that made very pointed comments demanding that SCHD deny any use of the turbines.
Rep. Pearson stated, “The people in power in this building and downtown can do something. It’s up to you Director Taylor, it’s up to you (Shelby County) Mayor Lee Harris. You have to deny this permit. The history that has got us here is problematic, and we will deal with that later, but we have to demand to be heard.”
The protestors also allege that the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce has been helping xAI shield the total truth from the public and is downplaying the health risks for the residents in the black neighborhoods that will be neighbors to the xAI facility.
MCAP’s Pearson stated, “We are being shackled to this pollution and these fossil fuels yet again. When will things change for clean air, clean energy and things that we know we need for us all? There is no reason why Shelby County has so many people with asthma or allergies. We should not allow this to be normalized.”
Heated further back and forth has been occurring on social media, but speaking candidly on the Stan Bell show on historic WDIA 1070 AM, the Chamber’s Chief Government Affairs Officer Bobby White told listeners, “I want everybody to have their right to protest. I understand that people come from different perspectives, but it irks my nerve that when someone disagrees with you all of a sudden they’re the devil. I’m not saying let’s not make your voices heard, but let’s do it in a way that does not demean or defame people.”
Clearly stating that he does not speak for the company, among many points made in the interview, he explained, “They (xAI) made a private investment that did not require anything. Whether than talking about what they were going to do, what you have seen is that they have been quiet and let you see what they are doing. But you’ll start to see more and more what investment looks like from this company.”
And, White said, “Keep in mind that the turbines are temporary. XAI is in Memphis and are here to stay. It’s just a matter of how they power their operation.”
He adds, “The whole thing is that even within that space it’s not quote unquote community land. That land was owned by somebody and they bought that land and leased the land in one place and bought the land in the other place,” he said in reference to a second purchase XAI has made.
Also, “They didn’t get any public incentive. They’re not members of the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program where you don’t pay property taxes for some period of years. They came and they made investment in us. It hasn’t necessarily been US investing in them.” He says xAI has moved Memphis into the next level as AI grows as an industry.
The first call-in listener’s comments easily sums up the entire issue very well. Relating to the business model bringing the project, she said in reference to how xAI information has come out, “You need to be transparent. You let people ask questions and then tell them you’re not going to answer anything. What economic value are we getting from this? They’re building all over Arlington, why didn’t they put it in Arlington? We all know that if you put it out there (in suburban areas) they would raise holy havoc because you know they would not let it come to their community. Tell us the truth whatever that truth is. We’re at a point where we don’t know what to believe and we don’t know who to believe,” she said.
Copyright 2024 TN-TRIBUNE, All rights reserved.
