Since the arrival of Colossus, air quality in Southwest Memphis has plummeted because this major polluter has increased the amount of Nitrogen Oxide Gas (NOx) emissions by 30-60 percent. xAI’s permit requests using 15 gas turbines, but the plant already has 15 dirty gas turbines! This gas leads to more smog and asthma-related illnesses. In addition, the turbines are pumping over 16 tons of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, into our air. 

We are fighting for our lives and need your help. My office has reached out to elected officials and the Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Michelle Taylor, the chief official charged with protecting our health, demanding she deny the permit. The community also hosted a fireside chat with Memphis Mayor Paul Young recently where more than 300 concerned Memphians made it clear how Musk and xAI were launched in Memphis with ZERO public input or knowledge. By the time the plant was announced, xAI had already acquired the vacant Electrolux facility and a giant swath of land surrounding it. They have since acquired even more land and are throttling up production. Like the multi-billion dollar oil companies that tried to steal our land and run the Byhalia pipeline through our backyards in 2020, xAI and the Greater Memphis Chamber believe our community is the path of least resistance. We must show them what #PeoplePower can do and fight for clean air, our health, and our future! Submit pubic comment TODAY and tell the Shelby County Health Department to deny xAI’s dirty gas turbine permit! Southwest Memphis is not corporations’ dumping ground, and we cannot be bought!