Mississippi Board Weighs Southaven Data Center Power Plant

State permit board held its first hearing on a power facility backed by a data center in Southaven.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Data Centers

Photograph of tall exhaust stacks and a low gas-turbine building on flat ground beside a pine tree line under hazy morning light, with transmission towers in the distance. — Mississippi's Department of Environmental Quality permit board held its first hearing Monday on a proposed power plant tied to a Southaven data center. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality permit board held a hearing Monday on a proposed power plant for a Southaven data center. The hearing addressed a prevention of significant deterioration air emissions construction permit.

Why it matters

The hearing comes as residents raise questions about how the facility could affect water and light bills and noise. It is the first MDEQ permit board hearing on a data center-backed power facility.

The seven-member MDEQ permit board is reviewing a prevention of significant deterioration air emissions permit for the proposed plant. The extraction does not indicate the plant's projected output or emissions levels, and no board decision has been reported.

The players

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality

The state agency responsible for environmental regulation in Mississippi, including air emissions permits for industrial facilities.

The details

Board members discussed potential effects on residents, including water and light bills and noise. The hearing was held in Jackson, the state capital, and focused on the air emissions construction permit.

Monday: MDEQ permit board hearing on the Southaven data center power plant.

Big Picture

The hearing applies the Clean Air Act's Prevention of Significant Deterioration permitting process, a federal framework for new major emission sources, to a power plant tied to data center demand in North Mississippi.

Residents in North Mississippi may see effects on their water and light bills and experience noise, depending on the permit outcome. The extraction does not specify the size of any bill impact.

The takeaway

Permit decisions for data center power plants will shape how costs and environmental effects are shared by nearby residents. Readers in North Mississippi should watch for the board's final ruling.