Data Centers Turn to Old Jet Engines as Power Waits Grow
AI data centers face multi-year grid delays and turn to converted jet engines from ProEnergy for power, according to TechCrunch on November 3, 2026.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- AI data centers face multi-year waiting lines for electrical grid connections.
- Companies like Elon Musk's xAI and OpenAI are deploying converted jet engines to generate power.
- Converted jet units come with trade-offs regarding lower efficiency and higher emissions.
The explosive growth of artificial intelligence is creating a massive energy bottleneck, forcing several AI data centers worldwide to wait years for grid connections and new turbines. According to a report by the New York Times, these persistent delays are driving some data center operators to take matters into their own hands by converting retired jet engines to generate their own electricity.
Data from the International Energy Agency reveals that hooking up 100 megawatts to the electrical grid in Northern Virginia takes approximately seven years. Meanwhile, an executive at Mitsubishi Power, a leading global power generation equipment manufacturer, told Bloomberg last week that most power capacity is not expected to come online until 2031.
In some cases, these infrastructure bottlenecks are already costing operators business. Last month, Microsoft withdrew as the anchor customer for Nscale's data center in Loughton, England, after the local utility provider announced it could not supply adequate power until the early-to-mid 2030s.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Elon Musk's xAI is among the prominent firms already utilizing these converted engines. Citing state permits and satellite imagery, the New York Times reported that xAI installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis. These units were supplied by ProEnergy, a company that rebuilds GE engines commonly found on Boeing aircraft.
The adoption of retired jet engines to power AI data centers highlights how traditional energy infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with the immense power demands of advanced computing chips. While these stopgap energy solutions help bypass lengthy grid connection queues, they also underscore the lengths to which tech giants will go to maintain a competitive edge, even at the cost of higher environmental footprints.
In 2025, OpenAI followed Musk's approach by deploying gas turbines at its initial Stargate site in Abilene, Texas. Crusoe, a Denver-based AI data center builder constructing that Abilene campus, ordered 13 of ProEnergy's converted units in April. By September, Crusoe walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic, a supersonic passenger jet startup that also sells aircraft engine derivatives as power plants. A Crusoe spokesperson told TechCrunch at the time that the firm still plans to utilize turbines. Additionally, the Trump administration is amplifying the pressure by encouraging data centers to generate their own electricity.
Nonetheless, converted jet engines involve distinct trade-offs. The New York Times notes that they are less efficient and generate more pollution than turbines engineered specifically for conventional gas plants, requiring more units to produce the same amount of power. Consequently, converted jet engines may serve as a short-term solution, with industry experts predicting that efficiency and environmental scrutiny will heighten within a year or two.
Source: TechCrunch
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