Colossus

xAI · Memphis (Boxtown), Tennessee

Water — consumed, not returned

Taken from the basin1,109M gal/yr
Evaporated on site365M gal
Making the power744M gal
Basin stressLow-Medium
Where the water comes from
Reclaimed / recycled water
Cooling
Liquid-to-chip + evaporative assist; on-site greywater plant
Basis
Fitted to a published figure of 365 million gallons a year

Air — what the stacks emit

Nitrogen oxides548t/yr
Sulphur dioxide305t/yr
Fine particulates53.2t PM2.5
Health damages$46.8M/yr
Where it burns
TVA — Tennessee Valley + 35% turbines on the site itself
Generation mix
Nuclear 41 · Gas 27 · Coal 13 · Hydro 10
Emitted at the fence line
43% of this site's criteria pollution
CO₂e
814 kt/yr — climate, not air quality

Who wanted it

Who asked for it
xAI — self-build, anchored on its own Grok models
Who approved it
Memphis Light, Gas & Water load agreement + TVA supply; Shelby County Health Department air permits issued 2025 for 15 turbines after ~35 ran unpermitted
What it serves
Grok training and serving; overflow capacity for Tesla autonomy models
IT capacity
250 MW running of 500 MW announced

Stood up in 122 days inside a shuttered Electrolux plant. The NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center sued over methane turbines operating without Clean Air Act permits in Boxtown, a majority-Black neighborhood with elevated asthma rates. xAI later funded an $80M greywater recycling facility.

on-site gas turbinesin litigationenvironmental-justice case

Where it is

35.0757°, -90.1268°

Water and air figures are modelled from disclosed capacity, not measured — site-level error is roughly ±40%. Diesel backup generators are not counted, so on-site figures are floors. Full method.