2026年2月17日 美国东部时间下午5:00 / 路透社
作者：瓦莱丽·沃尔科维奇
xAI标志在这张拍摄于2025年2月16日的插图中出现。路透社/Dado Ruvic/插图 购买许可权利，新标签打开
华盛顿，2月17日（路透社） – 密西西比州监管机构将于周二举行公开听证会，讨论埃隆·马斯克旗下xAI公司计划建造燃气发电厂为其Colossus II数据中心供电的方案。与此同时，该公司正面临美国全国有色人种协进会（NAACP）的诉讼威胁，后者指控xAI未取得空气污染物排放许可就安装和运营燃气轮机，违反了联邦法律。
代表田纳西州孟菲斯市现有Colossus I设施附近主要由非裔美国人构成的当地社区，该民权组织表示，xAI开始在密西西比州南aven的一处场地非法安装并随后运营27台燃气轮机，以支持建在州界对面孟菲斯的Colossus II数据中心。
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该组织称，此举未按《清洁空气法》要求获得必要的施工前或运营空气污染物排放许可。
空气质量
“这些涡轮机产生的污染正在恶化，并将继续加剧密西西比州南aven和孟菲斯大都市区本已恶劣的空气质量，”NAACP在宣布拟起诉xAI的信件中表示。
xAI未立即回应置评请求。
NAACP指出，这些涡轮机可能排放大量形成烟雾的氮氧化物（NOx），超过《清洁空气法》规定的“主要污染源”阈值，还会排放包括细颗粒物和致癌甲醛在内的其他污染物，对当地主要是非裔美国人的社区造成危害。
《清洁空气法》要求原告在提起诉讼前60天发出起诉意向通知。
xAI正迅速推进其Colossus超级计算机项目，该计算机用于在孟菲斯训练公司的Grok人工智能聊天机器人，并向南方扩张。目前项目处于第二阶段，正寻求尽快启动第三阶段。
南方环境法律中心（SELC）于2024年代表NAACP就xAI在Colossus I站点非法安装35台无许可涡轮机提起诉讼，之后该公司拆除了20台涡轮机，并为剩余15台申请了许可。
密西西比州环境质量部（DEQ）的听证会是公众对该项目发表意见的唯一机会。SELC曾表示，该项目将是孟菲斯周边地区多年来最大的新增污染源。
DEQ表示，xAI已提交该场地41台永久涡轮机的许可申请，并将在申请审核期间运行若干临时涡轮机。
报道：瓦莱丽·沃尔科维奇；编辑：大卫·霍姆斯
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Mississippi holds hearing on xAI data center amid environmental lawsuit threat
February 17, 2026 5:00 PM UTC / Reuters
By Valerie Volcovici
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xAI logo is seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Mississippi regulators will host a public hearing on Tuesday over plans by Elon Musk’s xAI to build a gas-fired power plant to power its Colossus II data center, as the company faces a lawsuit threat by the NAACP, accusing it of violating federal law by installing and operating gas turbines without air permits.
The civil rights group, acting on behalf of the largely African American local community living near the existing Colossus I facility in Memphis, Tennessee, said xAI began illegally installing and then operating 27 gas turbines at a site in Southaven, Mississippi to power Colossus II, sited across the state line in Memphis.
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It said this was being done without properly obtaining the necessary preconstruction or operating air permits required by the Clean Air Act.
AIR QUALITY
“Pollution from these turbines is worsening and will continue to worsen the already poor air quality in Southaven, Mississippi and the Memphis metropolitan area,” the NAACP said in a letter declaring its intent to sue xAI.
xAI was not immediately available for comment.
The NAACP said the turbines have the potential to emit a significant amount of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx), above the Clean Air Act’s “major source” threshold, and other pollutants including fine particulate matter and carcinogenic formaldehyde, harming largely African American local communities.
The Clean Air Act requires plaintiffs to signal their intent to sue 60 days in advance.
xAI has been rapidly building its Colossus supercomputer which is being used to train the company’s Grok AI chatbot in Memphis and expanding to Southaven. It is currently in phase 2 and is seeking to begin a third phase soon.
After the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is representing the NAACP in this new lawsuit threat, filed an intent to sue xAI in 2024 for installing 35 non-permitted turbines at its Colossus 1 site, the company removed 20 turbines and obtained permits for the remaining 15.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality hearing is the only chance for the public to weigh in on the project, which SELC has said will be the largest new source of pollution in the area around Memphis in years.
The DEQ said xAI has submitted permit applications for 41 permanent turbines at the site and will run a number of temporary turbines while the applications are being reviewed.
Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by David Holmes
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