If artificial intelligence becomes the new default tool for automating and processing information in the world, the computers that run it will require a lot of electricity. According to the International Energy Agency, “search tools like Google could see a 10-fold increase in electricity demand if they were to fully implement AI.” Data already shows that ChatGPT queries consume nine times more energy than a typical browser search. If the trend in the use of cloud-based services, AI, and cryptocurrencies continues, 6% of U.S. energy consumption will be generated by the data centers that power them.
In a vacant 750,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in southwest Memphis, Elon Musk's xAI startup is currently building what could be the world's largest supercomputer. Local utility Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) claims the project will create more than 300 “new high-paying jobs” and generate roughly $500,000 in PILOT payments per year for the city. Meanwhile, residents have expressed concern about the impacts on the local environment of energy requirements of up to 150 megawatts, enough to power roughly 100,000 homes, in a county with extreme climate vulnerability.
Elon Musk at the 2023 conference.
Photo: Getty Images
“This is a transformative moment for Memphis,” Ted Townsend, president and CEO of the nonprofit Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, said at a press conference announcing the project in June. “We're excited that all Memphians will have an identity to lead in the field of artificial intelligence.” Townsend's office declined to comment for Architectural Digest's story, but Townsend previously said the xAI project will be the “largest multi-billion-dollar investment in the history of the city of Memphis.” But the details leading up to the opening are unclear. The deal is in place, and the facility is being built quickly. When the project was made public on June 5, it already had a contract with MLGW. Musk aims to have the facility fully operational in 2025, including building a new substation on the site to increase energy capacity from the current 50 megawatts to 150 megawatts.
Musk plans to build a new facility to house the giant supercomputer at the old Electrolux facility in Memphis.
Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images
To do that, they must first get approval from the federally owned utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority. Currently, “the discussion is about taking advantage of TVA's demand response program, which supports load reduction during peak demand periods,” says TVA spokesperson Melissa Greene. Local environmentalists aren't convinced that will be enough to support the additional demand on the city's grid, and worry that MLGW's insistence on using gas-powered “peaking plants” will only accelerate the region's devastating pollution rates. “We are also very concerned that xAI's demand for electricity will force the Tennessee Valley Authority to ramp up gas-powered plants in South Memphis and finalize plans to build more plants in the area, creating even more air pollution problems for nearby residents,” says LaTricea D. Adams, founder, CEO and president of the nonprofit Young, Gifted & Green.
Water is also a concern: The xAI supercomputer will require continuous cooling, including through an evaporative cooling tower system, which “consumes significant amounts of water,” according to MLGW, with the facility needing an additional 1 million gallons of water per day.
The supercomputer would require up to 150 megawatts of energy – enough to power around 100,000 homes – sparking concern among local residents.
Photo: Getty Images/Andrey Semenov
When complete, the xAI supercomputer could surpass the current top-ranked facility, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Frontier, located about 400 miles away in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Oak Ridge is in the 87th percentile for climate vulnerability, according to the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index. Memphis Shelby County starts at a 10% higher baseline, the most vulnerable in Tennessee for risk of exposure to toxic chemicals and air pollutants.
“South Memphis, like many other communities of color, is on the front lines of climate change,” Adams said. “If TVA and Memphis leaders want to get serious about fighting the climate crisis, they must demand a firm commitment from xAI that its facilities stop operating and relying on dirty, greenhouse gas power plants and instead invest in renewable energy and battery storage.”
