Colossus 1 · South Memphis, TN
Last change recorded 2026-10-04 · Last checked 2026-10-04
Latest: Third MLGW substation expected to power the building · Substation and lines energized · 2025-11-07 · recorded 2026-10-04
Built in 122 days; 35 portable gas turbines on site plus MLGW service; turbine air permits disputed (Sherwood News, Sept 2025) · source ◐ secondary, confidence medium
Recorded readiness — 3 of 6 applicable milestones have a dated public record
Gate to first power — target 2024-08-11 (estimate) · path: Hybrid: on-site bridge, then grid · each step must finish its lead time before the target
1 of 1 required steps have a public date. Red = recorded date past the rule-based deadline · grey "no public date" = required step without a record · green = on record in time · context steps never colour.
| Step | Must finish by | Others did it | Known date | Status | Basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permits in hand | 2024-08-11 (0 mo before) | 4 mo after (n=8) | 2025-07-02 | recorded 11 mo after the deadline | Air permit for gas turbines (Shelby County, July 2025) · ◐ | |
| Substation and lines energized (context) | 2024-06-11 (2 mo before) | 15 mo after (n=1) | 2025-11-07 | context | Third MLGW substation expected to power the building · ◐ | |
| Construction started (context) | 2022-08-11 (24 mo before) | 29 mo before (n=15) | 2024-04-24 | context | Construction starts in a former Electrolux plant · ◐ |
This site is energized; lights only show how its recorded steps compared with the lead times.
Lead-time assumptions
- Site secured 15 months before first power — Land under control and campus announced. Rarely binding; shown for context.
- Permits in hand 0 months before first power — Final air and siting permits. Operators often energize on standard or temporary authorisations and receive the major permit later; flagged only when the permit lands more than 6 months after first power or is missing for an on-site plant.
- Grid supply agreed 9 months before first power — Interconnection or large-load agreement approved. Observed median 7 months before first power; the physical works (substation, lines) run in parallel with construction.
- Substation and lines energized 2 months before first power — Utility delivery point live; final tests before the load is taken.
- New generation online 1 months before first power — Utility plant or on-site plant generating; needed just before energization when the grid cannot carry the load alone.
- Major equipment on site 6 months before first power — Turbines, transformers, switchgear delivered; installation and commissioning take the remaining months.
- Construction started 24 months before first power — Groundbreaking of the building that gives first power. Observed 4-26 months for recent AI campuses; Meta's redesigned campuses took 35-58.
- Building ready for IT 0 months before first power — First building ready for IT. 'Complete' or 'opened' is usually reported after first power; flagged only beyond 3 months.
- Full build-out complete -12 months before first power — All announced buildings operational. Comes after first power by design; context only.
- Water supply secured 12 months before first power — Water rights, municipal agreement or desalination contract in hand. Context only; one of the feasibility items.
- Financing closed 12 months before first power — Project financing, anchor lease or committed capital announced. Context only; not applicable when the owner is a hyperscaler building on its balance sheet.
Dated steps (from the sources; later dates are plans)
Power equipment (from permits, filings and reporting; blank cells were not disclosed)
| Category | Make / model | Units | MW | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gas turbine | Solar Turbines (Caterpillar) Titan 130 (SMT-130) | 14 × 16.5 MW | 231 MW | operating | 2025-07-02 | As-built fleet per MeasuredAI; Shelby County air permit granted July 2025 for the permanent turbines · ○ |
| gas turbine | GE Vernova TM2500 | 27 × 34 MW | — | operating | 2025-07-02 | Aeroderivative trailer units reported in the as-built configuration (fleet count not confirmed by the permit) · ○ |
Build-out timeline (Epoch AI; dated status notes with IT power; rows after today are estimates)
Recorded fact permits in hand has a recorded date later than the rule-based deadline for a 2024-08-11 first power.
Calculated requirement Energized; watch the build-out timeline for the next buildings.
Sources (Epoch AI selection): May 2025 Electricity Provider Disclosure · July 2025 Permit for Gas Turbines · Southern Environmental Law Center Gas Permit Appeal, with additional satellite images · Disclosure on X (formerly Twitter) by Elon Musk of the breakdown of GPUs · Anthropic announcement
Epoch AI, 'AI data centers', epoch.ai/data/ai-data-centers (CC BY 4.0); coordinates from GeoNames cities500 (CC BY 4.0) and hand-entered places; overrides in tools/project_overrides.csv with their own sources. Campuses outside the Epoch dataset come from tools/campuses.csv (public reporting, source per row). Data retrieved 2026-10-05. Report a correction to contact@ailoadmap.com (campus id colossus-1; include the row and a source link).