Data centers in Shelby County, Tennessee: 3 projects mapped

3 projects tracked

1 proposed or being built

2 operating

1,286 MW from the 2 active projects that report a figure

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Tracked projectBigger dot, more power3 sites shown

The Memphis fight is not about whether a data center should be built. It is about whether the gas turbines powering it needed a permit, and it has been going on for two years.

The Greater Memphis Chamber announced in June 2024 that xAI would build a supercomputer in Memphis. Shortly after, the company began installing methane gas turbines at the site that became Colossus 1, without a permit. xAI applied for a permit for 15 turbines in January 2025, but aerial photos that April found 35 running. After a 60-day notice of intent to sue filed on behalf of the NAACP, xAI removed the unpermitted turbines in June 2025; the health department approved a 15-turbine permit that July anyway. The EPA closed the loophole in January 2026, ruling that turbines need permits even when called temporary or portable. The NAACP, represented by SELC and Earthjustice, sued xAI under the Clean Air Act in April 2026 and sought an injunction to shut the turbines down in May.

Colossus 1 runs at 340 megawatts and Colossus 2, which is expanding, at 946 megawatts; Colossus 2 sits at Tulane Road in Whitehaven, a historic Black neighborhood in southwest Memphis. In September 2026 the council discussed spending nearly $3.3 million in tax revenue from the xAI site on home repairs, blight cleanup and air-quality monitoring within five miles of the property.

The council is also considering a one-year pause on new data center rezoning, site plans and building permits, sponsored by council chair Jana Swearengen-Washington, Yolanda Cooper-Sutton and former chair J.B. Smiley. A committee advanced it August 18, 2026. The full council is scheduled to vote on it October 6, 2026.

Data center projects on record in Shelby County

Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.

Memphis3

Project	Company	Status	Power
Colossus 2Memphis	xAI	Operating, expanding	946 MW
Colossus 1Memphis	xAI	Operating	340 MW
xAI MinihardMemphis	xAI	Under construction	Not reported

Where this comes from

The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.