Featured Elon Musk's xAI, the EPA and air pollution with temporary generators.

From my reading - some of the generators (out of ~2 dozen) are in fact still permitted to continue running. But what's intriguing is - that burning natural gas? that's causing a pollution problem? California Disney runs Natural Gas forklifts throughout there indoor warehouses, & (both in Ontario as well as Anaheim) their stringent EPA as well as calOSHA doesn't seem to give a hoot.

 

The epa has so many loopholes and often fines are so low that people simply break the law and pay the fine when caught.

It appears that xAI was rushing to build out, perhaps to sell servises to the US government (which recently happened). The company building the generators according to an article said that utility conforming pollution controls were not on most of the turbines. The loophole said they could call them non road use and get permintted. EPA just correctly closed that loophole, one of the few good things it has done in the last year. Bottom line is xAI probably had plans for some more permanent natural gas generators with proper pollution controls. They have $20B, and a ccgt power plant costs around $700M and produces electricity at a lower cost over the long run. If AI really takes off we need more of these efficient power plants, and if it doesn't we should shut down the older less efficient plants.

My concern with grok is all of a sudden it was in my car and enabled. The faking of photos and videos with clothes removed is the latest scandal. Grok "corrected it" by only allowing the "feature" for paying customers. I am not thrilled with grok but trying to keep up with the AI progress.

 

The thing is that they did it fast and cheap; without proper permits - when they realized that the power company couldn't deliver enough electricity for their hungry servers. Since it wasn't permitted, they bought the cheapest dirtiest generators they could find to install. That means no scrubbers, just an engine cooling system and generator. It was their own incompetence for dropping a server farm someplace, where they couldn't get enough power to run it....... You would think that would be on their requirements list when surveying locations to place that server farm. On top of all this; senior management lied to officials - claiming that only one or two generators were running and the rest was just backup. Reporters took a sensor to the fence line and showed all generators to be running.
I wouldn't want to be living down-wind of that server farm; especially if you have respiratory issues. With constant exposure, you may even develop respiratory issues.
FWIW; Memphis is home to St Jude medical center.

 

Interesting video in that it says they weren't running natural gas as reported on so many feeds. Rather methane. Ironically using methane gets rid of its ill effects in upper atmosphere. But that explains why they get a sulfurish stink perhaps.
Hard to wrap one's head around the harm of sulfur/stink as we have hot springs Maybe 80 90 minutes away that people gravitate towards. It is sickening to yours truly - so it's definitely understandable that the local Memphis residents would be in an uproar.
Also hard to wrap one's head around, Tesla took such huge efforts to mollify Germany when they built out their manufacturing facility, putting in tons of solar, battery backup, and replanting native trees in lieu of the non-native species that they removed.

 

Yea; German environmental laws are very strict and have TEETH. Unlike USA EPA laws that are constantly being eroded away by lobbyist, that claims it impedes on American competitiveness. That's why there's German manufacturing plants here. It's too difficult to layoff their own workers in Germany; but they can do that here.

 

natural gas is mainly methane. A sulfur smell can't come from methane CH4 as it doesn't have sulfur compounds. Natural gas contains impurities like up to 5% Hydrogen Sulfide that will give off that smell. hydrogen sulfide can be removed before burning or its products sulfur, sulfur dioxide, and sulfur trioxide removed after burning. It appears neither was happening with these generators.

 

Again; there was ZERO emission controls on those generator units - that's why they're CHEAP. Whatever jurisdiction those generators was sold to; gets the appropriate emissions control hardware hung onto them to comply with local rules and regulations. That's part of the permitting process.
As an example; I live a mile from the county line. I'm required to install ultra-low NOx natural gas appliances. I move across that imaginary line, I can cut cost by $50 buck and go with the more simple generic NOx scrubber. That's just one appliance; water heater, stove, fire place, cloths dryer, HVAC - it adds up.
Since they (Elon's team) screwed up - I'm sure they were trying to keep the cost over-runs down. That's why they didn't file for the permits.
Until they monetize their AI, they need to keep cost down.

 

If you read my post you would realize I was replying to hill that it had to be natural gas and not pure methane to have a sulfur smell. I pointed out what component would cause this and that this could be treated before or after combustion but it appears they did neither. xAI used a loophole that mobile temporary units didn't require polution control. I am sure pollution control for nitrous oxides and sulfur oxides would cost a lot more than $50, but should have been used. In fact I have no idea why the H2S was in the natural gas, as it should be removed before the gas lines in most areas.