AI Giants Turn to Repurposed Jet Engines to Bypass Power Grid Delays
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire · Based on a photo by Quintin Soloviev (CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)
Companies like xAI and OpenAI are deploying converted aircraft engines to fuel data centers as grid connections face years-long wait times.
AI data center operators are increasingly turning to converted jet engines to generate electricity as they face severe delays in grid connectivity, as TechCrunch reported via the New York Times.
These units, which are rebuilt from retired aircraft engines to burn natural gas, allow companies to bypass long queues for power. Audun Martinsen, an analyst at Rystad Energy, told the New York Times that these engines enable data centers to be operational within 24 months. By comparison, the International Energy Agency reports that connecting 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia can take approximately seven years.
Several major players have already adopted this strategy. The New York Times reported that Elon Musk’s xAI installed eight converted turbines from ProEnergy—which rebuilds GE engines used in Boeing jets—at its Colossus 2 data center in Mississippi. OpenAI followed suit in 2025, deploying gas turbines at its first Stargate location in Abilene, Texas. The Denver-based startup Crusoe is constructing the Abilene campus and ordered 13 ProEnergy units in April, though it later walked away from a $1.25 billion deal in September to purchase 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic.
While the Trump administration is encouraging data centers to generate their own power, the New York Times notes significant trade-offs. Converted jet engines are less efficient and produce more pollution than turbines designed for conventional gas plants. Despite these environmental concerns, the urgency for power remains high; Microsoft recently exited a deal as the anchor customer for Nscale’s Loughton, England, facility after the local utility could not guarantee sufficient power until the early to mid-2030s.