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XAI data center gets air permit to run 15 turbines, but imaging shows 24 on site

80 points by rbanffy

by palmfacehn

1 subcomments

Thermal imaging, displaying 24 active turbines would have been more relevant. The article contained one image, none of the alleged turbines were highlighted. As a layperson, I'm not sure what I am looking at here.

by perihelions

5 subcomments

From a different perspective: the fact US businesses can assemble massive power plants on demand, in weeks, is quite an illustration of the economic dominance of the country.

by fuzzbazz

0 subcomment

Can't verify from the low quality photo in the article.
This [1] press release from the Southern Environmental Law Center hints to a possible reason - they may be migrating from small to bigger turbines:
> Aerial images obtained by SELC revealed 35 turbines at the site in March (...) while the company has removed some smaller-sized turbines, it has recently installed three larger turbines
[1] https://www.selc.org/press-release/elon-musks-xai-threatened...

by danpalmer

5 subcomments

Musk's playbook is to do the thing that he feels is obviously right, and figure out the consequences later, and because he's enough of a bully and rich enough, the consequences rarely end up being that big a deal. I believe it's ideological, and from that perspective have a hard time disagreeing with his motivations – I disagree with him, but think he's doing what makes sense to achieve his goals which he believes are good for the world.
He's done this with SpaceX many times over, bullying the FAA and the local council in Texas. He's done this with Tesla again and again with crash data and even selling products that don't exist to consumers. He's going to keep doing it until there are actual consequences because it's hard to say it's not a good business decision if you never actually have to pay for the issues you cause.

by tmaly

0 subcomment

That this is a thing makes me wonder if Elon opened a can of worms with this new political party. He is not making any friends challenging the established parties. They will show no regulatory mercy.

by blitzar

1 subcomments

I am looking at that roof and thinking how much better it would look as one massive solar panel.

by superjan

1 subcomments

The article talks about pollution but I’d expect them to be very noisy as well. Gas turbines are essentially redesigned aircraft engines.

by x187463

2 subcomments

There has been reporting about this for months. I realize I'm just a pleb, but I really don't understand why a company with, essentially, limitless money, won't simply install the emissions reducing hardware and properly permit the turbines. Like a lot of what's going on around Elon/US politics, it seems like a meaningless fight and is only further torching reputations. Just do the obvious right thing and move on.

by metta2uall

1 subcomments

One can only hope that after their recent falling-out the Trump administration will re-energise the EPA...

by josefritzishere

0 subcomment

Elon has a criminal history of at best ignoring regulations and at worst deliberately defying them. At Tesla he racked up enormous fines for illegal dumping and then a series of on site OSHA vioations. This is just part of the pattern.

by dotancohen

6 subcomments

by davidguetta

2 subcomments