A gas-fired power plant south of Memphis planned by Elon Musk’s AI company could emit more greenhouse gases than nearly 1.3 million cars and trucks driven for a year.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public meeting Feb. 17 on an initial draft permit for Musk’s xAI’s Southaven Power Plant, near the Mississippi-Tennessee state line. The plant would provide power for the billionaire’s nearby “Colossus” supercomputers.

If built, the plant would be able to generate up to 1,240 megawatts of electricity. It could emit over 6 million tons of greenhouse gases per year and over 1,300 tons of health-harming criteria air pollutants every year.

xAI in July 2024 began operating its Colossus 1, primarily used for the company’s AI tool Grok. Its second data center, “Colossus 2,” began operating this month, Musk said Jan. 17 post on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).

On Jan. 15, the EPA declared that xAI was illegally using dozens of natural gas-fired turbines parked near the data centers to power the facilities without air quality permits, according to reporting in The Guardian. The agency revised its policy to make clear that gas turbines require permits even if they are described as portable or temporary.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public meeting regarding the draft permit for the Southaven Power Plant at 6 p.m. on Feb. 17, at the M.R. Davis Public Library, 8554 Northwest Dr., Southaven, MS 38671. See the public notice for more information.