SpaceXAI on Thursday laid out a schedule to retire the temporary turbines powering its Southaven, Mississippi site, tying the move to a transition toward a larger, permanent power setup for its Greater Memphis-area supercomputer project.

In an update, SpaceXAI detailed an agreed order with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality that locks in a timetable for pulling the temporary turbines from the Southaven facility. The company said removals could start as early as August 2026, with all mobile turbines off-site by July 2027.

SpaceXAI said the temporary generators are being phased out as it brings on a permanent electricity supply from a 1.2-gigawatt power plant it is building under a Clean Air Act permit.

“In addition, we are investing to ensure that all SpaceXAI mobile turbines are equipped with advanced emission control technologies. These technologies include selective catalytic reduction devices that safely convert nitrous oxides into nitrogen and water and reduce environmental impacts. Current monitoring shows that local air quality continues to meet or exceed EPA standards,” SpaceXAI wrote in the update.

SpaceXAI said air monitoring indicates local conditions continue to meet or beat Environmental Protection Agency standards.  Alongside power changes, SpaceXAI said it is investing millions of dollars in noise-reduction measures such as sound walls, silencers, and newer turbine technology, and that it has been adjusting operations to limit sound impacts on nearby residents in Southaven.

“We care deeply about being good neighbors and we regularly reconfigure power operations to reduce noise from the facility and minimize our impact on the local Southaven community,” the company stated.

SpaceXAI said the permanent plant will use 41 turbines and is authorized under a Clean Air Act permit granted in March 2026.

The update stems from a lawsuit filed back in April by The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) accusing Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI of breaking federal air-pollution rules. The group filed the lawsuit stating that unpermitted gas turbines were sending harmful emissions throughout the Memphis area.

SpaceX later disclosed in its IPO filing that xAI planned to spend $2.8 billion on additional mobile gas turbines, despite being embroiled in a lawsuit over emissions from its generator near Memphis. 

Photo: Thrive Studios ID / Shutterstock