Public power utilities get permits for their operations. xAI tried to get around permitting regulations and environmental laws by claiming the generators were temporary, got sued [0], and even the Trump administration's EPA ruled against them [1]. They are also now trying to do it again in another state with Colossus 2 [2].

[0] https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/18/xai-is-facing-a-lawsuit-fo...

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/15/elon-musk...

[2] https://www.selc.org/news/xai-built-an-illegal-power-plant-t...