Data Centers Use Retired Jet Engines to Make Power as Grid Delays Grow

Some artificial intelligence data centers are turning to converted jet engines to generate their own electricity because waiting for local power grids and new turbines takes years.

The engines are pulled from retired aircraft and rebuilt to burn natural gas. They are not meant to serve as permanent power plants, but they provide a quick way to get electricity as power supplies fall behind the rapid growth of artificial intelligence.

Companies stuck in long grid queues value how quickly the converted engines can start running. Rystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen told the New York Times that operators using jet-powered units can get a data center running in 24 months. Connecting 100 megawatts to the power grid in Northern Virginia takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency. Mitsubishi Power expects most new power capacity to come online by 2031.

These long delays are already costing some data center operators business. Microsoft recently pulled out as the main customer for a data center in Loughton, England, after the local utility stated it could not supply enough power until the early to mid-2030s.

To avoid similar delays, some major technology companies are already using the converted turbines. Elon Musk’s xAI installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, according to state permits and satellite imagery cited by the New York Times. These units come from ProEnergy, a company that rebuilds General Electric engines commonly found on Boeing jets.

OpenAI followed a similar path in 2025 by using gas turbines at its first Stargate site in Abilene, Texas. Crusoe, a Denver startup that builds artificial intelligence data centers, is constructing that Abilene campus and ordered 13 converted units from ProEnergy in April. Crusoe later walked away from a $1.25 billion deal in September to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic, a startup that makes supersonic passenger jets and sells their engines as power plants. A Crusoe spokesperson told the publication that the company still plans to use turbines.

The Trump administration is adding more pressure by encouraging data centers to generate their own electricity. However, converted jet engines come with clear trade-offs. They are less efficient, pollute more than turbines built for traditional gas plants, and require more units to produce the same amount of power. Because of these environmental and efficiency concerns, experts note that converted jet engines may only serve as a short-term fix.

Summary

As delays for electrical grid connections stretch on for years, artificial intelligence data center operators are adopting temporary solutions like retired jet engines to get power quickly. While these converted engines help bypass long wait times, their lower efficiency and higher pollution mean they may only serve as a short-term fix.