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Data centers · Shelby County, Tennessee

Shelby County

2 projects on record

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Projects in Shelby County
xAI Colossus (Colossus 1)xAI (now SpaceX/SpaceXAI)300OperatingSept. 1, 202450 MW+
xAI Colossus 2xAI (now SpaceX/SpaceXAI)—OperatingJan. 2026Under 50 MW

Updates, newest first

  1. Oct. 19, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · Judge Debra M. Brown let the United States intervene but refused to dismiss the suit, ruling the government cannot end a citizen suit on its own and that its national-security concerns were not relevant to that question. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), Oct. 19, 2026)
  2. Aug. 31, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · SpaceXAI said it had powered down 11 of the 69 temporary turbines in Southaven. (Magnolia Tribune (via Clarke County Tribune), Sept. 1, 2026)
  3. July 29, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · Musk announced a fourth area data center, Minihard, on Tulane Rd next to Colossus 2 and Macroharder. Under a July 2026 agreed order with MDEQ, all 69 temporary Southaven turbines are to be removed by July 2027. (WMC Action News 5, July 31, 2026; Magnolia Tribune (via Clarke County Tribune), Sept. 1, 2026)
  4. June 15, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · The Justice Department moved to intervene and have the suit dismissed, arguing federal enforcers outrank citizen suits and that shutting the turbines would harm national security; a Defense Department declaration said Grok supported military operations. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), June 15, 2026; U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), June 15, 2026; U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), June 15, 2026; Tennessee Lookout, June 18, 2026)
  5. May 6, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · The plaintiffs asked for a preliminary injunction, citing 33 turbines; an amended motion on June 12 cited 57 as of May 15. No ruling as of Oct. 20, 2026. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), May 6, 2026; U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (RECAP), June 12, 2026)
  6. April 14, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · The NAACP and its Mississippi State Conference sued X.AI Corp. and MZX Tech in federal court in Oxford, Miss. (No. 3:26-cv-74), alleging 27 turbines in Southaven that power this campus run without Clean Air Act permits. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Miss. (via CourtListener RECAP), April 14, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center, April 14, 2026)
  7. April 9, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · SELC appealed the MDEQ permit for the NAACP, Young, Gifted & Green, and the Safe and Sound Coalition; no outcome found. (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  8. March 10, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · MDEQ approved a permit for 41 permanent turbines, about 1.2 GW, to power Colossus 2 and a planned Mississippi data center. (Data Center Dynamics, March 11, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  9. Feb. 13, 2026 xAI Colossus 2 · NAACP, through SELC and Earthjustice, sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue over 27 unpermitted turbines in Southaven. (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026; Southern Environmental Law Center, April 14, 2026)
  10. Feb. 11, 2026 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · TVA board unanimously approved an additional 150 MW of firm power for xAI through MLGW, doubling its grid allocation, conditioned on contractual, financial, and operational requirements. (Knoxville News Sentinel (via Yahoo), Feb. 11, 2026; WSMV, Feb. 12, 2026)
  11. Dec. 15, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Air Pollution Control Board dismissed the appeal after a seven-hour hearing (Memphis Flyer reports a 6-1 vote). (WMC Action News 5, Dec. 15, 2025; Memphis Flyer, Dec. 16, 2025; Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  12. Oct. 10, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · xAI broke ground on the $80M Colossus Water Recycling Plant, meant to treat 13 million gallons/day of T.E. Maxson plant effluent so xAI stops drawing on the Memphis Sand aquifer; operations expected fall 2026. (WMC Action News 5, Oct. 10, 2025; MLGW, May 5, 2025)
  13. Aug. 29, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · FOX13 reported a University of Memphis dispersion-modeling study (Dr. Chunrong Jia) found modeled turbine pollutants below national standards, except PM2.5, which it attributed to the area's overall industry. (FOX13 Memphis, Aug. 29, 2025)
  14. Aug. 21, 2025 xAI Colossus 2 · MZX Tech applied to MDEQ for a permit for 41 permanent turbines at the Southaven plant. (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  15. July 29, 2025 xAI Colossus 2 · Memphis-Shelby County Schools board voted 7-2 to accept xAI-funded renovations at four southwest Memphis schools near the sites. By July 2026, work was finished at two campuses only (Daily Memphian, via Hoodline). (Chalkbeat Tennessee, July 30, 2025; Hoodline (citing Daily Memphian), July 28, 2026)
  16. July 22, 2025 xAI Colossus 2 · MLGW stated it has no new contracts with xAI at 5420 Tulane Rd, supplies about 0.5 MW there, and is not supplying power to Colossus 2. (MLGW, July 22, 2025)
  17. July 16, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · SELC appealed the permit to the Memphis and Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board for the NAACP and Young, Gifted & Green, arguing the site should be treated as an existing major source. (Tennessee Lookout, July 17, 2025; Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  18. July 3, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · City-commissioned air testing (June 13 and 16, by Ensafe/SGS Galson) reported no dangerous pollutant levels; MLK50 reported outside experts said the wind did not blow from the site toward the monitor and ozone was not measured. (MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, July 3, 2025)
  19. July 2, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Shelby County Health Department issued the air permit for 15 permanent gas turbines, with 12-month rolling emission caps, monthly recordkeeping, testing deadlines, and fines up to $10,000 per day per violation. (CNBC (via NBC San Diego), July 3, 2025; WMC Action News 5, July 2, 2025)
  20. July 1, 2025 xAI Colossus 2 · xAI bought the former Duke Energy power plant site in Southaven, MS to generate power for Colossus 2 (month only). (Data Center Dynamics, March 11, 2026)
  21. June 17, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · SELC sent xAI a 60-day Clean Air Act notice of intent to sue on behalf of the NAACP, alleging at least 35 turbines run without permits (capacity about 407-421 MW, potential NOx over 2,000 tons/yr). SELC later said xAI removed the unpermitted turbines; no suit over this site was found. (TechCrunch, June 18, 2025; Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  22. May 22, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · DCD reported 168 Tesla Megapacks installed at the site. (Data Center Dynamics, May 22, 2025; Cleanview, May 13, 2026)
  23. May 6, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Greater Memphis Chamber said xAI would remove temporary turbines over two months, keeping about half running until the second substation (No. 22) connected in fall 2025. (WMC Action News 5, May 6, 2025; Data Center Dynamics, May 7, 2025)
  24. May 5, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · MLGW public update: 150 MW energized at Paul Lowry, second 150 MW pending TVA, second substation under construction at xAI's expense, 300 MW expected by Dec. 2025. (MLGW, May 5, 2025)
  25. May 5, 2025 xAI Colossus 2 · MLGW said xAI's power requests for Tulane Rd had ranged from 260 MW to 1.1 GW, but no final request was submitted, so no study was underway; gas service there was only a small domestic line. (MLGW, May 5, 2025)
  26. April 25, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Health department held a public hearing on the permit at Fairley High School; SELC says all commenters opposed it. State Rep. Justin Pearson spoke against the turbines. (Memphis Flyer, April 30, 2025; Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026)
  27. April 24, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · SELC said thermal imagery showed more than 30 turbines operating (TechCrunch reported at least 33). (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026; TechCrunch, June 18, 2025)
  28. April 14, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Daily Memphian reported xAI expects to pay more than $30M in city and county property taxes, assessed on about $2.2B of investment. (Daily Memphian, April 14, 2025)
  29. April 9, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · SELC released aerial images it says showed 35 turbines on site (about 421 MW). Mayor Paul Young said xAI told him only 15 were running and the rest were stored. (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026; WREG, April 1, 2025)
  30. April 1, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Shelby County Commission passed a resolution urging the health department to hold a public hearing on the turbine permit. (Memphis Flyer, April 30, 2025)
  31. March 18, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Memphis City Council approved the final sale of about 13 city-owned acres for $820,000 for xAI's greywater recycling plant. (WMC Action News 5, March 19, 2025)
  32. March 7, 2025 xAI Colossus 2 · xAI disclosed it acquired a 1-million-square-foot property in Whitehaven; FOX13 confirmed an $80 million price. (TechCrunch, March 7, 2025; FOX13 Memphis, March 7, 2025)
  33. Feb. 28, 2025 xAI Colossus 2 · Land clearing began at the Tulane Rd site, according to Epoch AI's satellite timeline. (Epoch AI, July 30, 2026)
  34. Jan. 1, 2025 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · xAI (through affiliate CTC Property LLC) applied to the Shelby County Health Department for an air permit for 15 permanent gas turbines (month only). (Southern Environmental Law Center, May 8, 2026; Memphis Flyer, April 30, 2025)
  35. Nov. 7, 2024 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · TVA board, meeting at Murray State, approved MLGW's request to supply 150 MW to xAI, conditioned on a demand-response program, Megapack batteries, and curtailment within 30 minutes on TVA request. (WKMS, Nov. 7, 2024; Data Center Dynamics, Nov. 8, 2024; Renewable Energy World, Nov. 7, 2024)
  36. July 9, 2024 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · MLGW CEO Doug McGowen told the Memphis City Council about 50 MW would be ready by Aug. 1 and another 150 MW needed TVA approval; council members complained they learned of the project from the news. (WMC Action News 5, July 9, 2024; MLGW, Jan. 1, 2024)
  37. June 5, 2024 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Greater Memphis Chamber announced xAI's supercomputer project at the former plant, pending approvals from EDGE, TVA, and local bodies; Mayors Paul Young and Lee Harris and MLGW's Doug McGowen were quoted in support. (Greater Memphis Chamber, June 5, 2024)
  38. June 5, 2024 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Rep. Steve Cohen issued a statement welcoming the project as good for the Memphis economy. (Office of Rep. Steve Cohen, June 5, 2024)
  39. Dec. 1, 2023 xAI Colossus (Colossus 1) · Phoenix Investors bought the former Electrolux property for $35 million (month only, per Commercial Appeal). (The Commercial Appeal (via AOL), June 12, 2024)

Statewide

Tenn. Code Ann. 67-6-102 and 67-6-206: qualified data centers ($100M+ investment and 15+ new jobs at 150% of state average wage within a 3-year window) get a sales tax exemption on computers, software, and backup power and cooling equipment, plus a reduced 1.5% sales tax rate on electricity. (Tennessee Department of Revenue, June 1, 2022; Local 3 News (WRCB), Sept. 9, 2026) HB1847/SB2128 (114th General Assembly): for data centers needing 50 MW+, lets them self-generate or buy from independent producers without state or local utility oversight, makes owners pay for grid upgrades they trigger, and bars shifting those costs to other ratepayers. House passed 76-14 on Apr. 21, 2026; Senate 28-0 on Apr. 22, 2026; Gov. Bill Lee signed it May 7, 2026, effective on signing. (Tennessee Lookout, April 28, 2026; Local 3 News (WRCB), June 1, 2026) Proposed, not filed: Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) said in Sept. 2026 she will file a bill for the 2027 session to pause new data center exemption certificates for three years and require the Department of Revenue to report their cost and recipients. (Local 3 News (WRCB), Sept. 9, 2026) Memphis ordinance passed on third reading about Aug. 19, 2025: 25% of property tax revenue from xAI's sites goes to the surrounding communities (Boxtown/Whitehaven, about a 5-mile radius). The FY2026 share was $3,259,282; the city's spending plan was still awaiting a full council vote as of July 22, 2026. (FOX13 Memphis, Aug. 20, 2025; WMC Action News 5, July 23, 2025; WSMV, July 22, 2026; WMC Action News 5, June 4, 2026) TVA requires board approval when an industrial customer of a local power company needs more than 100 MW; MLGW treats any load of 5 MW or more as a large load requiring a system impact study paid for by the requester. (Renewable Energy World, Nov. 7, 2024; MLGW, May 5, 2025) Tennessee data centers →