Colossus 1 & 2

Satellite images of Colossus 1 and 2 outside of Memphis, TN. Captured May 13, 2026. © Airbus DS (2026)

• Developer / Operator: xAI (Elon Musk's AI company)
• Location: Memphis, TN and Southaven, MS
• Total Current Generation Capacity: ~1.5 GW across both sites
  • Colossus 1: ~198 MW
  • Colossus 2: ~1,300 MW
• Grid Strategy: Hybrid — primarily behind-the-meter gas and battery generation, with 300 MW of grid power at Colossus 1 only
• Status: Colossus 1 operational since September 2024; Colossus 2 has 1.3 GW of capacity with more under construction.

Background

xAI was the first major behind-the-meter data center project and inspired many other companies to pursue similar strategies. Musk's team received timelines from utilities suggesting it would take years to bring their first GPU cluster online. The company instead pursued a controversial strategy, bringing in mobile gas generators to provide power. That strategy helped xAI build its first data center in 4 months compared to the 5+ year wait times in markets like PJM and Virginia. The approach has since expanded into one of the largest private power generation buildouts in the country, spanning two states and attracting significant legal and regulatory scrutiny.

Assets

The Colossus campus spans four properties across the Tennessee-Mississippi border:

• Colossus 1 — 3231 Paul Lowry Road, Memphis, TN (former Electrolux manufacturing facility in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park)
• Colossus 2 ("Macrohard") — 5420 Tulane Road, Whitehaven, Memphis (~1M sq ft, built 2023)
• "MACROHARDRR" — 2400 Stateline Road, Southaven, MS (~810K sq ft, former GXO Logistics warehouse)
• Southaven Power Plant — Former Duke Energy power plant site in Southaven, MS, purchased by xAI. The site retains high-voltage transmission lines connecting to a 200 MW TVA natural gas plant nearby.

Behind-the-meter power for Colossus 2 is generated at the Southaven Power Plant site and sent to the data center buildings via medium-voltage transmission lines.

Colossus 1

Satellite image of Colossus 1 in Memphis, TN. Captured May 13, 2026. © Airbus DS (2026)

Colossus 1 was powered up in September 2024, just four months after the first VoltaGrid mobile generators arrived on site. According to an MLGW document from May 2025, xAI was receiving 150 MW of grid power at the Paul Lowry site and had requested an additional 150 MW, for a total of 300 MW. Based on satellite images, we believe the second substation has been completed giving the site a total of 300 MW of grid power.

The site was originally permitted for 15 Solar SMT-130 gas turbines, though at peak, aerial photos revealed 35 methane gas turbines on site. With the substations now online, xAI has been removing temporary turbines. Satellite imagery shows 12 Solar SMT-130 turbines remaining at ~16.5 MW each, for roughly 198 MW of on-site generation capacity. Combined with 300 MW of grid power, Colossus 1 has approximately 500 MW of total power capacity (after temporary turbines were removed).

The site also has 119 Tesla Megapacks deployed across three clusters, providing roughly 120 MW of battery capacity, according to our satellite image analysis.

Seven States Power Corp is building a 100 MW solar project on the Colossus 1 site.

Colossus 2

Satellite image of Colossus 2's behind-the-meter power at the site of the old Southaven Power Plant. Captured May 13, 2026. © Airbus DS (2026)

Colossus 2 is a much larger facility housing roughly 550,000 NVIDIA GB200 and GB300 GPUs. It is currently online, with more capacity under construction.

Unlike Colossus 1, Colossus 2 currently has no utility power. According to the May 2025 MLGW document, xAI had not submitted a final request, and MLGW was studying a range of options from 260 MW to 1.1 GW of grid power. The facility is also not connected to a large natural gas pipeline; it is served only by a small domestic natural gas line.

Instead, all power comes from behind-the-meter turbines at the Southaven Power Plant site. As of mid-May 2026, the site had approximately 1.3 GW of generation capacity across an estimated 59 turbines visible in satellite imagery, a mix of trailer-mounted mobile units and semi-permanent installations.

MDEQ issued a permanent air permit in March 2026 for 41 permanent generators totaling roughly 1.2 GW (17 Titan 130 units, 16 Titan 350 units, and 8 ProEnergy PE6000 units), though none of the permanent units have been installed yet. SELC appealed the permit in April 2026.

The temporary-mobile turbines and the permitted permanent generators are entirely separate sets of equipment. MDEQ considers the mobile units exempt from permitting for up to one year because they are trailer-mounted, though SELC argues that federal law defines them as "stationary" since they are not self-propelled.

Legal and Regulatory Challenges

The Southaven operation has drawn significant legal action. In April 2026, the NAACP, SELC, and Earthjustice filed a lawsuit alleging xAI was running turbines without permits, calling the site a "personal power plant." At the time of filing, the groups believed there were 33 turbines on site. MDEQ subsequently confirmed the actual count was 46 temporary-mobile turbines. We counted 59 turbines in satellite images taken in mid-May 2026.

In mid-May 2026, the NAACP filed for an emergency injunction to shut down the turbines. xAI responded that its data centers "cannot currently function" without them.

Anthropic Cloud Services Deal

According to the SpaceX S-1 filing, in May 2026 xAI entered into Cloud Services Agreements with Anthropic for access to compute capacity across Colossus and Colossus 2. Anthropic agreed to pay $1.25 billion per month through May 2029, with capacity ramping at a reduced fee in May and June 2026. Either party can terminate on 90 days' notice.

SpaceX Turbine Acquisition

The same SpaceX S-1 filing disclosed that on April 30, 2026, SpaceX entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire mobile gas turbines and related packages for approximately $2 billion (the "Turbine Acquisition"), expected to close in May 2026. Separately, during Q1 2026, SpaceX executed purchase agreements for additional turbines totaling $925 million through 2029.

Key Generation Equipment

Colossus 1 (current):

• 12x Caterpillar Solar SMT-130: ~198 MW
• 119x Tesla Megapack: ~120 MW
• Grid power: 300 MW
• 100 MW solar (under construction)

Colossus 2 / Southaven (current, as of mid-May 2026):

• ~59 temporary-mobile turbines: ~1.3 GW (mix of Solar Titan 130, GE TM2500, and others)
• 41 permanent turbines permitted but not yet installed: ~1.2 GW
  • 17x Solar PGM-130 (Titan 130) — 16.5 MW each — ~280 MW subtotal
  • 16x Solar Titan 350 — 35 MW each — ~560 MW subtotal
  • 8x ProEnergy 6000PE — 50 MW each — ~400 MW subtotal

On order:

• Doosan Enerbility DGT6-300H S2: 1,900 MW (5 H-class gas turbines). Musk confirmed the order on X.

Key Partners

• Solaris Energy Infrastructure: Primary turbine rental partner (~1,140 MW committed, 67% of Solaris's order book)
• Tesla: Megapack battery storage ($430M in 2025)
• Doosan Enerbility: 1.9 GW H-class gas turbine order
• TVA / MLGW: Grid power (300 MW at Colossus 1)
• GE Vernova: TM2500 and LM2500 aeroderivative turbines
• Caterpillar Solar Turbines: Titan 130, Titan 350, and other models
• ProEnergy: PE6000 turbines (permitted, not yet installed)
• Anthropic: Cloud services customer ($1.25B/month through 2029)

Timeline

• June 2024: VoltaGrid mobile generators arrive at Colossus 1
• September 2024: Colossus 1 first cluster energized
• May 2025: 168 Megapacks deployed at Colossus 1 (324 MW)
• Summer 2025: xAI arrives in Southaven with 18 temporary-mobile turbines
• September 2025: 7 Titan 350 turbines confirmed operational at Southaven
• Late 2025: Doosan Enerbility 1.9 GW turbine order placed; 27 turbines / 495 MW at Southaven
• February 2026: MDEQ public hearing on permanent permit application
• March 2026: MDEQ approves air permits for 41 permanent generators (~1.2 GW)
• March–May 2026: 19 additional temporary turbines installed (~500 MW)
• April 2026: SELC appeals permanent permit; NAACP/SELC/Earthjustice file lawsuit
• April 30, 2026: SpaceX signs $2B turbine acquisition agreement
• May 2026: Anthropic cloud services deal signed ($1.25B/month); NAACP files for emergency injunction