US Data Centers Turn to Retired Jet Engines as Grid Delays Mount
Facing grid waits of up to seven years, US AI data centers are running converted aircraft engines as on-site power, trading efficiency and cleaner air for speed.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesSome US data centers built for artificial intelligence are now generating their own electricity with converted aircraft engines. The jet turbines are hardly a full-scale power plant, but their use shows how far energy supply has fallen behind the pace of AI expansion.
Speed is the main appeal. Audun Martinsen, an analyst at Rystad Energy, says such units make it possible to bring a data center online within 24 months. By comparison, connecting 100 MW to the grid in Northern Virginia takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency. A Mitsubishi Power representative said most new energy capacity is expected to come online by 2031.
Delays already cost business
The waiting times are starting to hurt operators. A month ago, Microsoft dropped its role as anchor customer of Nscale's data center in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it could not supply enough power until the early-to-mid 2030s.
Elon Musk's company is among those already using aircraft engines: eight converted jet turbines in Mississippi power the Colossus 2 data center in Memphis. They are supplied by ProEnergy, which refits General Electric engines typically fitted to Boeing aircraft. OpenAI installed gas turbines at its first Stargate site in Abilene, Texas, last year. Nearby, AI data center builder Crusoe is developing a campus that will use 13 ProEnergy-converted engines. In September, Crusoe walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 turbines from Boom Supersonic.
Washington pushes self-generation
President Donald Trump's administration is increasing pressure on data center operators to produce their own power. In February, the US Energy Information Administration suggested using retired military jet engines for the purpose. Around 4,000 aircraft stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona could provide up to 40 GW of capacity, the agency said.
The approach has clear drawbacks, though. Converted aircraft engines are less efficient and pollute more than turbines designed for conventional gas-fired power plants. For operators, the trade-off is stark: faster access to power now, at the price of higher emissions and lower efficiency, while grid connections remain years away.
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