MEMPHIS, Tenn — Tuesday, Memphis Light Gas and Water President Doug McGowen gave a long-awaited update on MLGW's work to determine what kind of impact the new proposed xAI supercomputer in Southwest Memphis will have on the city’s electric grid and water system.
President McGowen confirmed Elon Musk’s new supercomputer is being built at the former Electrolux manufacturing facility. He said the facility will use water from the existing 20-inch water main and the existing 8 megawatts of electric power currently available but will also pay for the construction of a 150 megawatt substation.
McGowen said the project is expected to add about 150 megawatts to the electric grid’s peak demand, which he said is well within their range to accommodate.
However, councilmembers want to schedule further meetings with MLGW where they can take a closer look at the process of the impact study and xAI’s potential footprint in Memphis. McGowen said he is open to this.
“I think we did a really good job of setting the stage to make sure we’ve minimized any risks to the rest of our customers,” he said.
McGowen also said the Tennessee Valley Authority is in the process of negotiating with xAI to participate in their Demand Response program, which is a contract where xAI would agree to reduce their electricity use when the grid is stressed.