SpaceX won’t remove all of xAI’s unpermitted turbines for another year
SpaceX said on Thursday that it will remove the unpermitted turbines powering its xAI data centers near Memphis as it transitions to a permanent, 1.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant. The turbines won’t be completely removed until July 2027, though. SpaceX said that it’s currently operating 69 gas turbines to power the Colossus data centers, of which many have been operating for months.
- ▪SpaceX said on Thursday that it will remove the unpermitted turbines powering its xAI data centers near Memphis as it transitions to a permanent, 1.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant.
- ▪The turbines won’t be completely removed until July 2027, though.
- ▪SpaceX said that it’s currently operating 69 gas turbines to power the Colossus data centers, of which many have been operating for months.
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| Original publisher | TechCrunch |
| Canonical URL | https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/31/spacex-wont-remove-all-of-xais-unpermitted-turbines-for-another-year/ |
| Publication time | Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:16:17 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-31T15:18:03.801Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-31T15:18:03.801Z |
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| Cluster | EYxv87cUwXy6 · 1 stories |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
SpaceX said on Thursday that it will remove the unpermitted turbines powering its xAI data centers near Memphis as it transitions to a permanent, 1.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant. The turbines won’t be completely removed until July 2027, though. SpaceX said that it’s currently operating 69 gas turbines to power the Colossus data centers, of which many have been operating for months. The NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center have sued xAI over the use of unpermitted turbines. SpaceX acquired xAI in February. In its IPO filing, SpaceX said it plans to buy $2.8 billion worth of gas turbines for its data centers over the next three years. SpaceX claims that it is allowed to operate the existing turbines without permits because they remain on the trailers they were shipped on.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at TechCrunch.
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