Elon Musk Keeps Adding Deafening Turbines To Power His Data Centers Because He Doesn't Care About Residents
Elon Musk's xAI data centers need a lot of electricity. Without it, Grok can't sling edgy memes and make videos of Trump dressed like Rambo, flying a bald eagle into battle. However, his latest data center in Southaven, Mississippi needs more juice than the grid can provide. So, at the expense of the surround ears and lungs, he built his own power station on sight and shipped in a bunch of methane gas turbines to compensate (something Elon is overly familiar with).
The turbine generator count is up to 27; there were 18 installed last summer, with an additional nine added last December. A surprise to no one, having more than two dozen gas-powered turbine makes a lot of noise, and Southaven residents are mad.
AI data centers are often built in rural areas because the land is cheap. But the people who live in those rural areas typically do so because they enjoy the quiet, peaceful nature. Now, many of those same people are having that tranquility disrupted by a constant high-pitched noise. And while the noise can range from 40-60dB in most surrounding areas (about the sound of a normal conversation) the sound these turbines make is much higher pitched than that — think of the sound from a commercial jet engine. It's even louder for some residents who live on the same roads. And it never stops. The turbines run day and night.
Residents are speaking out but it isn't getting them very far
Eddie Gossett lives on the same road as the xAI facility and, despite wanting to live out the rest of his days there, he wants to get away from the noise. If he even can. "I intended to die right here," the 76-year-old Gossett told NBC News. "Hell, I couldn't give my house away with all this noise."
Resident Jason Haley spoke to Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite during a town hall meeting about noise pollution. Haley claims that, while using a decibel reader, he's never seen it drop below 40 at his house. While 40dB isn't loud, it's the constant high-pitch that's the problem. "I can tell you that the high-pitched noise carries farther than that," Haley said.
According to Musselwhite, xAI built a $7 million noise-blocking wall, but it hasn't helped much. "We make fun of it and say, 'It's the Temu sound wall,'" said resident Taylor Logsdon.
It isn't just the noise. These turbines are illegally polluting the air
To add insult to eardrum injuries, these turbines pollute the surrounding air. According to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the methane-burning turbines are releasing smog, soot, and formaldehyde into the air, and doing so all without permits. So not only is it wrong, it's illegal. "xAI has once again built a polluting power plant without any permits and without any notice to nearby communities," said SELC Senior Attorney Patrick Anderson. "There are no loopholes or exceptions — xAI is breaking the law while leaving local communities to deal with the consequences, and we plan to take them to court."
The SELC claims that the pollutants from these turbines, mainly the formaldehyde, can not only cause respiratory diseases, asthma, and heart problem, they're carcinogenic. The 27 turbines produce so much nitrous oxide (NOx), that it's carrying over to Memphis, Tennessee, since Southaven is just on the border, and it could make Elon's facility the largest industrial source of NOx in the entire Memphis metropolitan area. Back in Southaven, Logsdon says her two children have developed respiratory issues since the data center opened.
It likely isn't going to get better, either. These 27 methane turbines are supposed to be temporary, and will eventually be replaced with permanent ones. But while those permanent turbines are supposed to be quieter, there will also be 41 of them. So they'd better be a helluva lot quieter, otherwise with nearly double the amount, the noise might not get any better. But Elon doesn't care, because Grok makes fire memes.