Taylor Logsdon, who lives close to the power plant and is part of a community group opposing the project, said the sound wall hasn’t done much to muffle the turbines or reassure neighbors. “We make fun of it and say, ‘It’s the Temu sound wall,’” she said, referring to the online Chinese fast-fashion retailer known for its ultra-low prices.
The new xAi plant in Southaven, Miss.
Taylor Logsdon’s dogs, Ruby and Bolt, have been unsettled by the noise from the turbines in Southaven, she says.
The new xAi plant in Southaven, Miss.
Logsdon and two of her three children, Dallas, left, and Brooklyn. Logsdon said her children have struggled with sleep this school year as the turbines whir at night.Houston Cofield for NBC News
She acknowledged there may be some benefits from the xAI project, but she fears it’s already coming at her family’s expense. Two of her children developed respiratory problems since the plant went online, she said. The nonprofit Southern Environmental Law Center has said gas turbines produce pollution and release hazardous chemicals, including formaldehyde.
Opponents of the Southaven turbines said their concerns have nothing to do with politics.
Gossett, a former small-business owner, praised Musk’s success and the work Musk did as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, calling it “a service.”
He said that after another 2 a.m. wakeup, though, he has had enough. “You need to come over and stay at my house for a week,” Gossett said, addressing Musk.
Jason Haley, an IT worker, co-founded the Safe and Sound Coalition, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group pushing to shut off the turbines.
The new xAi plant in Southaven, Miss.
Jason Haley, who can see xAI’s campus from his backyard, has questioned why greater noise controls for the turbines weren’t put in place from the start.Houston Cofield for NBC News
Haley can hear the turbines from his home in a working-class subdivision called Colonial Hills. He started posting daily recordings that caught the attention of local news media, and he has questioned why noise mitigation efforts weren’t put in place from the beginning.
“If you knew the noise was going to be an issue, put in a sound wall first,” he said. “Do some other stuff first before you torture us. That’s not that hard of an ask.”
A noise analysis conducted by xAI hasn’t been made public.
The NAACP has accused xAI of powering up its turbines in Southaven without a permit. The civil rights organization said the company is following the same playbook it used in Memphis to bring its Colossus I data center online in 2024 in just 122 days.
