Some AI data center operators are turning to converted jet engines to generate their own electricity while they wait for grid connections and new power equipment. The engines, taken from retired aircraft and rebuilt to run on natural gas, can be brought online faster than other options, according to a report by The New York Times.
The delays can be substantial. Connecting 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency. By comparison, Rystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen told The Times that a data center using jet-engine power units could be running in 24 months.
Power constraints have already affected business plans. Microsoft last month withdrew as the anchor customer for Nscale’s data center in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it could not provide enough electricity until the early to mid-2030s.
Elon Musk’s xAI has installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help supply its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, the Times reported, citing state permits and satellite imagery. The units are supplied by ProEnergy, which rebuilds a GE engine used on Boeing aircraft.
OpenAI also adopted gas turbines at its first Stargate site in Abilene, Texas, in 2025. Crusoe, the Denver-based company building the campus, ordered 13 converted ProEnergy units in April. In September, Crusoe abandoned a $1.25 billion agreement to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic. At the time, a Crusoe spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company still planned to use turbines.
Converted aircraft engines have drawbacks: they are less efficient and produce more pollution than turbines designed for conventional gas plants, and more units are needed to generate the same amount of electricity, the Times reported. Those trade-offs could limit their appeal if efficiency and environmental concerns become more important over the next year or two.
Sources: TechCrunch.