Data centers turn to converted jet engines as wait for power grows
AI data centers facing years-long waits for grid connections are starting to generate their own electricity using retired aircraft engines rebuilt to burn natural gas, the New York Times reported.
Companies building artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the United States and elsewhere are running into multi-year queues for grid connections and new turbines. Some have begun producing their own electricity with engines taken from retired aircraft and rebuilt to run on natural gas. The New York Times reported the trend on Tuesday, and tech outlet TechCrunch summarized it.
The engines are not meant to be permanent power plants, but they show how far power supply has fallen behind the pace of the AI buildout.
Speed is the main draw
The key advantage of converted engines is how fast they can be installed. Audun Martinsen, an analyst at energy research firm Rystad Energy, told the Times that a data center can be running in 24 months with jet-powered units. By comparison, the International Energy Agency says connecting 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia takes about seven years. An executive at Mitsubishi Power, one of the world's leading makers of power generation equipment, told Bloomberg that most capacity is expected to come online by 2031.
The delays are already costing deals. Last month, Microsoft withdrew as anchor customer for Nscale's data center in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it could not supply enough power until the early to mid-2030s.
Who is already using them
Elon Musk's xAI has installed eight converted turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, the Times reported, citing state permits and satellite imagery. The units come from ProEnergy, which rebuilds a GE engine commonly found on Boeing jets. OpenAI uses gas turbines at its first Stargate site in Abilene, Texas. The campus is being built by Denver-based startup Crusoe, which ordered 13 ProEnergy units in April. In September, Crusoe walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 gas turbines from Boom Supersonic, though it said it still plans to use turbines.
Trade-offs
The Trump administration is currently encouraging data centers to generate their own power. However, converted jet engines are less efficient and pollute more than turbines designed for conventional gas plants, and more of them are needed to produce the same output. Some experts say efficiency and environmental concerns may grow in importance within a year or two, which could make the engines a short-term solution.
