Mississippi’s environmental regulators have upheld the SpaceXAI Southaven permit for the company’s gas turbine power plant. After two days of testimony in Jackson, the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board voted on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to stand by its decision earlier this year to issue permits for the permanent power plant in Southaven, the Daily Memphian reported. The vote was not unanimous. Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson, who chaired the hearing, cast the only vote against.
What the board decided on the SpaceXAI Southaven permit
The vote ended a formal evidentiary hearing that began Monday, Nov. 9, at MDEQ’s offices on East Amite Street in Jackson. It was the first hearing of its kind the Permit Board has held on a power plant built to serve a data center. In the hearing, the board reviewed whether it made a mistake when it approved the air permit for MZX Tech LLC, a SpaceXAI affiliate, in March.
The Daily Memphian reported that MDEQ “ruled in favor of itself” and found the earlier permit decision was not an error. As a result, the permit for the plant at 2875 Stanton Road stays in place. The full vote count and the board’s written reasoning were not available early Wednesday.
The plant: The March permit covers 41 natural gas-fired turbines at the Stanton Road site, the former Duke Energy property.
Its purpose: The plant powers SpaceXAI data centers on both sides of the Mississippi-Tennessee state line, including Colossus 2 on Tulane Road.
The dissent: Gipson, one of the board’s seven members, was the only no vote.
Gipson’s questions during the hearing
During Monday’s session, Gipson pressed MDEQ staff and company representatives about how the plant could affect residents. He told WAPT-TV he did not want light bills to go up, and he asked how much water the plant would use and whether nearby homeowners would be living with noise. In testimony reported by WREG, an MDEQ air pollution expert said the turbines should not exceed the site’s air quality limits. A SpaceXAI representative told the board the company intends to be a good neighbor.
Public comments were not taken at the hearing because it was a formal evidentiary proceeding under state law.
What comes next for Southaven residents
The board’s vote makes its decision on the permit final at the agency level. Opponents could still ask a court to review it, but as of Wednesday morning none had said whether they plan to appeal.
The ruling is one piece of a larger fight over SpaceXAI in DeSoto County:
On Oct. 30, a federal judge in Oxford let the NAACP’s Clean Air Act lawsuit over the company’s turbines move forward.
MDEQ has proposed more than $6 million in penalties after saying MZX Tech started construction at Southaven sites without stormwater permits.
The DeSoto County Board of Supervisors has urged the company to raise its buyout offers to homeowners near its sites.
DeSoto County News will update this story as more details on the vote and any appeal become available.
