Reporter
Samuel Hardiman is a reporter who focuses on government and politics. He began his career at the Tulsa World where he covered business and K-12 education. Hardiman came to Memphis in 2018 to join the Memphis Business Journal, covering government and economic development. He then served as the Commercial Appeal’s city hall reporter and later joined The Daily Memphian in 2023. His current work focuses on xAI, energy needs and how local governments spend money.
There are 472 articles by Samuel Hardiman :
Documents show artificial intelligence company xAI considered using dozens of natural-gas turbines to power the second data center. However, the Greater Memphis Chamber said the company is “is demobilizing turbines in Shelby County.”
Earlier this month, MLGW said xAI could need more power than the Tennessee Valley Authority, the region’s energy provider, can supply.
The City of Memphis moved for sanctions Tuesday, May 13, in response to a Monday statement from RowVaughn Wells’ legal team that said any discussion of the civil case bankrupting the city is fearmongering.
Local minority contracting programs have been thrown into legal limbo after the Tennessee General Assembly effectively banned them statewide earlier this spring.
The firm has done work on stadium renovations around the country, including the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Indianapolis Pacers.
“Over the next 24 months, I don’t know if there will be a more critical time to set the city up for success or failure,” Memphis City Council Budget Chair Chase Carlisle said.
XAI has operated the turbines currently running without an air-emissions permit — using a temporary-use exemption that allows the machines to run for the first 364 days without a permit. XAI’s second data center could use enough electricity to power 40% of MemphisRelated content:
MLGW said that it has discussed xAI using up to 1.1 gigawatts of power at its Tulane Road data center. However, MLGW said that amount of power is not poised to be delivered soon and is not formally being studied.
Due to a delay in collecting the increased car-registration fee, a county clerk misstep cost the city more than expected. Plus, there’s no money for Mud Island amphitheater renovation this year.
Hundreds of people packed into Fairley High’s gymnasium in Whitehaven on Friday evening largely to vent their frustration about the artificial intelligence company’s use of natural gas turbines.
Both Memphis Police Department Chief C.J. Davis and Mayor Paul Young became emotional speaking about the violence in the city.
Chunrong Jia, a professor in the University of Memphis’ division of epidemiology, biostatistics and environmental health, modeled the impact of what xAI’s turbines would have on air quality in Southwest Memphis.
To many, xAI is just another chapter in what residents said they think is a legacy of industrial racism and pollution. The debate centers on one central question: Is Colossus worth the cost?
With the Redbirds’ future at AutoZone Park potentially in question, the City of Memphis’ capital improvement budget contains at least one notable absence.
XAI’s first Memphis data center Colossus dwells in a former Electrolux plant in Southwest Memphis. It is arguably one of the most valuable machines in the world controlled by someone with unrivaled wealth and galactic ambitions.
The U.S. does not have enough electricity to continue powering the artificial intelligence boom, according to experts and studies, which raises questions on how Memphis can provide power to xAI’s supercomputers.
Two Texas men were convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering related to the $773,695.45 lost by the City of Memphis during a 2022 phishing scam.
XAI is being taxed on $2.2 billion in investments, not the $12 billion the Greater Memphis Chamber touted throughout the past year.
The groups are urging the Health Department to issue an emergency order to stop xAI’s operation of what appear to be dozens of natural gas turbines in Southwest Memphis.
The tax increase puts together the last public dollars for a renovation intended to keep the Memphis Grizzlies in the city for the long term.
The Daily Memphian examined city consulting contracts executed in 2025, which focus on technology, improving the police department’s efficiency and more.
President Donald Trump could potentially exempt a large portion of heavy industry from emissions standards. Here’s what that could mean for xAI in Memphis.
Environmental advocates are looking to stop Elon Musk’s xAI from receiving an air-emissions permit for the natural turbines that partially power its data center in Southwest Memphis.
The push to exclude C.J. Davis came amid a flurry of legal filings Friday, including one that argued that Nichols’ family’s attorneys had access to federal documents that were supposed to be sealed.
The Memphis City Council voted again Tuesday to approve a land sale for Elon Musk’s xAI to build a wastewater facility in Southwest Memphis. City Council sets early start to budget season in return from spring breakRelated content: