The American federal corporation TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) has approved the allocation of 150 MW of power to the Colossus supercomputer of Elon Musk’s xAI company, which will allow the facility to run at almost full capacity.
Image source: x.com/xai
The xAI Colossus artificial intelligence computing cluster will be able to run almost all of its 100,000 Nvidia accelerators – previously the number of working components was limited by the power available to the enterprise. The facility’s huge demand for electricity raised concerns among local stakeholders about the impact on the entire region’s power grid. Elon Musk’s company xAI first launched the supercomputer in July 2024, and even then it required significantly more energy than was available – only 8 MW was initially allocated.
Musk’s team tried to fill the gap using its own power supplies, and before the end of the summer, local utility Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) upgraded an existing substation to provide the facility with 50 MW, but that wasn’t enough. To simultaneously run all 100,000 AI accelerators, approximately 155 MW of power is required, that is, with the quota allocated by the authorities, its needs will be almost satisfied.
MLGW and TVA have worked with local residents to assure them that the increased level of energy consumption from the xAI facility will not negatively impact the reliability of electric service in the Memphis area. MLGW CEO Doug McGowen noted that with the new quota, capacity remains within the company’s projected peak load, and additional capacity will be purchased from TVA if necessary.
To meet the increased energy demands of the AI industry, major technology companies including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle have begun investing in alternative sources, including nuclear power. However, the latter can be deployed in at least five years. Until then, consumers will have to rely on existing infrastructure to power data centers, raising concerns about its ability to handle growing demand.