Facing long wait times for power connections and new wind turbines, several AI data centers are resorting to generating their own electricity using modified jet engines, as reported recently.
These engines, salvaged from decommissioned aircraft and modified to operate on natural gas, are not conventional power plants, but highlight the growing gap between energy supply and demand due to AI expansion.
For companies caught in power supply delays, the key advantage of these jet engines is their quick deployment. “The priority is to secure power as swiftly as possible,” said Audun Martinsen, an analyst at Rystad Energy. With these jet-powered systems, “they can have a data center operational within 24 months,” he added.
In contrast, connecting 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia takes around seven years, according to the International Energy Agency. Experts predict that most new power capacity will not come online until 2031, as noted by an executive from Mitsubishi Power, a leading manufacturer of power generation technologies.
These delays have already impacted some data center operators. Recently, Microsoft decided against being the primary client for Nscale’s facility in Loughton, England, after the local utility indicated it wouldn’t provide sufficient power until the early to mid-2030s.
Companies like Elon Musk’s xAI are already implementing this technology, having set up eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to power its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, according to state permits and satellite imagery. The engines are sourced from ProEnergy, which refurbishes GE engines often used in Boeing jets.
Following Musk, in 2025, OpenAI also began using gas turbines at its initial Stargate location in Abilene, Texas. Crusoe, a startup based in Denver that specializes in AI data centers, is developing the Abilene site and ordered 13 converted units from ProEnergy earlier this year.
In a recent development, Crusoe abandoned a $1.25 billion agreement to acquire 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic, a startup focused on developing a supersonic jet that has begun marketing its engines as power sources for data centers. Despite this, a representative from Crusoe confirmed that the company still plans to utilize turbines.
Presently, the government is applying additional pressure by promoting the idea of data centers producing their own energy.
However, using converted jet engines has its downsides; they are less efficient and emit more pollutants compared to conventional gas turbines, requiring more units to generate the same power output. Experts suggest that this might be a temporary solution, as concerns about efficiency and environmental impact may become more pressing in the near future.
