DOJ backs xAI’s use of 57 unpermitted gas turbines near Memphis data centers, citing national security

The U.S. Department of Justice has backed xAI in a lawsuit seeking to halt the company’s use of 57 unpermitted mobile natural-gas turbines near its Memphis data centers. The DOJ argued that a win by the NAACP, which sued in April, would threaten “American national, economic, and energy security” by cutting power for AI work it says supports military operations. The NAACP says the turbines have worsened air quality in a region already among the most polluted in the country and that the practice violates federal environmental law.