AI Data Centers in Tennessee: Every Facility Tracked (2026)

Tennessee is home to one major operational artificial intelligence (AI) data center facility, accounting for 150 megawatts (MW) of tracked electrical capacity. Ban the Bots' data center map tracks hyperscale and dedicated machine learning clusters across the country. Tennessee's tracker entry is small in tracked capacity. Its significance comes from an active federal lawsuit over the facility's gas turbines. At 150 MW, Tennessee's tracked capacity is much smaller than massive hubs like Virginia with over 8,300 MW, Wisconsin at roughly 5,320 MW, Indiana at roughly 5,640 MW, or Texas with more than 4,500 MW.

Which Company Operates the AI Data Center in Tennessee?

One technology company operates the single tracked artificial intelligence facility in Tennessee: xAI. The artificial intelligence firm established its primary computing supercluster inside Memphis in Shelby County. The company chose an industrial property along Riverport Road to assemble what it termed the Colossus 1 Memphis Supercluster.

The facility was constructed inside a former Electrolux manufacturing facility located at 3231 Riverport Road. According to tracking records on the site's database, the project was announced on June 1, 2024. The development moved with notable speed, as the primary cluster was assembled in 122 days and doubled its capacity in an additional 92 days. The primary computing objective of the Memphis installation is training xAI's Grok chatbot model.

As of mid-2025, the facility houses more than 150,000 H100 and H200 graphics processing units (GPUs), alongside roughly 30,000 GB200 GPUs. This concentration makes the Memphis site one of the densest single-location training clusters in the world. However, operating that volume of hardware required rapid electrical infrastructure deployment that soon generated public opposition among Memphis neighbors.

What the Memphis Lawsuit Alleges

The Memphis supercluster is the subject of an active federal legal challenge involving community groups and environmental organizations. In April 2026, the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against xAI in federal court on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The complaint alleges violations of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) connected to the site's power generation systems.

The core dispute centers on xAI's deployment of dozens of gas-powered combustion turbines to support the facility's heavy power load. The plaintiffs allege that xAI operated these gas turbines without obtaining required pre-construction and operating permits under the Clean Air Act, and without installing mandatory pollution control technology. According to reporting documented by Democracy Now and the Southern Environmental Law Center, measured pollution levels in neighborhoods adjacent to the facility exceeded pollution levels recorded at Memphis International Airport.

This lawsuit remains an active, unresolved legal proceeding in federal court as of 2026. The legal filing does not yet carry a court verdict, settlement, or final ruling on the merits. Ban the Bots covers this dispute as part of its ongoing tracking of regulatory actions and citizen suits across the United States on the AI lawsuits tracker, where industrial turbine emissions and permitting shortcuts increasingly trigger formal federal court challenges. The Colossus case is notable on that tracker because the plaintiffs include a civil rights organization, the NAACP, rather than only environmental groups or government regulators.

Power Demands and Cooling Questions

Operating a 150 MW artificial intelligence cluster requires continuous base-load energy. xAI installed gas-powered turbines on-site to help power the facility. These combustion units created friction with Memphis neighbors over smog-forming emissions, noise, and airborne particulates, and are the subject of the Clean Air Act lawsuit described above.

In addition to electrical demands, hyperscale compute clusters often require significant quantities of water to operate evaporative cooling towers. In this site's tracking data, the cooling water source for the xAI Colossus 1 site is not specified. Ban the Bots does not guess or infer unconfirmed utility supplies. Readers seeking a broader breakdown of how high-density training clusters handle both thermal dissipation and water consumption can consult Ban the Bots' guide on AI data center environmental impact.

Tennessee AI Data Center Facilities, One by One

• xAI Colossus 1 Memphis Supercluster (Memphis, Shelby County; operating): an artificial intelligence training campus located in a former Electrolux plant at 3231 Riverport Road, originally announced on June 1, 2024. The facility accounts for 150 MW of tracked electrical capacity and houses over 150,000 H100/H200 GPUs plus 30,000 GB200 GPUs dedicated to training the Grok chatbot. The cooling water source is not specified in current tracking data. The facility is also the subject of the active NAACP-backed Clean Air Act lawsuit described above. Additional facility background is documented on the Colossus tracking record.

Ongoing status changes, capacity revisions, and legal developments for this location are monitored continuously on the interactive data center map.

FAQ: AI Data Centers in Tennessee

How many AI data centers are in Tennessee?

Ban the Bots tracks one major operational artificial intelligence data center in Tennessee as of 2026: the xAI Colossus 1 Memphis Supercluster located in Shelby County. This facility represents 150 megawatts of tracked electrical capacity. That is far smaller than tracked footprints in states like Texas, Virginia, or Indiana, where this site tracks thousands of combined megawatts.

What is the xAI Colossus data center in Memphis?

The xAI Colossus 1 Memphis Supercluster is a dedicated artificial intelligence training site operated by xAI in a former Electrolux facility at 3231 Riverport Road. Built in 122 days and later expanded, it houses more than 150,000 H100 and H200 GPUs alongside 30,000 GB200 GPUs to train the Grok chatbot.

Why is xAI being sued over its Memphis data center?

In April 2026, the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice filed a federal lawsuit against xAI on behalf of the NAACP under the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit alleges that xAI operated dozens of gas-powered turbines without required air quality permits or pollution controls, resulting in localized pollution levels exceeding those at Memphis International Airport.

How much power does Tennessee's AI data center use?

The xAI Colossus 1 campus in Memphis has a tracked electrical capacity of 150 megawatts. The operator installed on-site gas combustion turbines to help power its tens of thousands of graphics processors, which are the subject of an active Clean Air Act lawsuit.

Tracking Tennessee's AI Data Center Footprint

Tennessee's 150 megawatts of tracked capacity illustrate how the rush to build training clusters can trigger immediate local air quality fights and federal environmental litigation. To see how other states balance regional electrical grids and computing growth, view the nationwide data center map or examine larger deployments in Texas.