Elon Musk’s AI firm, xAI, has received official approval to operate natural gas-powered turbines at its supercomputer facility in Tennessee, United States, according to public records released Wednesday.

The Shelby County Health Department issued the permits on July 2, despite ongoing opposition from local residents who voiced concerns about air pollution during public hearings.

Under the permit, xAI—which now owns the social media platform X—must adhere to strict emissions limits, conduct regular testing, and meet set deadlines to maintain operations of the 15 turbines at the site, according to CNBC.

In a statement, xAI said it welcomed Shelby County’s decision to approve the permits, adding that “Our onsite power generation will be equipped with state-of-the-art emissions control technology, making this facility the lowest emitting of its kind in the country.”

After acquiring X earlier this year in a deal that xAI says valued the combined entity at $80 billion, Elon Musk’s startup is now planning to build a much larger data center near its Colossus site, with turbines supplied by SEI.

According to Morgan Stanley, which helped lead the financing, xAI raised a total of $10 billion this week through a mix of debt and equity.

The company is developing AI products to rival Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and other leading systems.

Its Grok chatbot—powered by the Memphis supercomputer—is already integrated into the X platform.