Data Centers Turn to Converted Jet Engines for AI Power

The delays are already hurting business. Last month Microsoft pulled out as anchor customer of Nscale's data center project in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it could not deliver enough power until the early or mid-2030s.

xAI, OpenAI and Crusoe

Elon Musk's xAI has installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis. They come from ProEnergy, which rebuilds GE engines commonly found on Boeing aircraft.

OpenAI followed in 2025, using gas turbines at its first Stargate site in Abilene, Texas. The startup building that campus, Crusoe, ordered 13 converted units from ProEnergy in April. In September, however, Crusoe dropped a $1.25 billion deal for 29 gas turbines from Boom Supersonic, the supersonic airliner developer that had begun selling its engines as data center power. A Crusoe representative said at the time that the company still planned to use turbines. The Trump administration is adding pressure by encouraging data centers to generate their own electricity.

A short-term fix

The approach carries clear trade-offs. Experts note that converted jet engines are less efficient and more polluting than turbines designed for conventional gas power plants, and many more of them are needed to produce the same output. That suggests the solution may be only a stopgap, with efficiency and environmental concerns likely to grow over the next year or so.