Some AI data centres are making their own electricity with converted jet engines, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, as operators face years-long waits for grid connections and new turbines. The engines are pulled from retired aircraft and rebuilt to burn natural gas, and while they are not regarded as a permanent power solution, their appeal is speed.
Elon Musk's xAI has installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data centre in Memphis, the Times reported, citing state permits and satellite imagery. The units come from ProEnergy, which rebuilds a GE engine commonly found on Boeing jets.
“It's all about getting power as fast as possible,” Rystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen told the Times. With jet-powered units, “they can have a data center running in 24 months,” he said. By comparison, hooking up 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency.
In some cases, the delays are already costing some operators business: last month Microsoft pulled out as the anchor customer for Nscale's data centre in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it could not deliver enough power until the early to mid-2030s.
Other operators have taken the same route. In 2025, OpenAI followed Musk's lead with gas turbines at its first Stargate site in Abilene, Texas. Crusoe, a Denver-based startup that builds AI data centres, is constructing that Abilene campus and ordered 13 of ProEnergy's converted units in April. In September, Crusoe walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic, a startup developing a supersonic passenger jet that has also begun selling a version of that jet's engine as a power plant for data centres. A Crusoe spokesperson told TechCrunch at the time that the company still plans to use turbines.
The Trump administration is adding to the pressure by encouraging data centres to generate their own electricity, according to the report.
Converted jet engines come with trade-offs, though: they are less efficient and pollute more than turbines designed for conventional gas plants, and it takes more of them to produce the same amount of power, according to the Times. That may ultimately make them a short-term play, with some experts saying efficiency and environmental concerns may grow in importance in a year or two.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Power availability, not chip supply, is now a binding constraint on AI expansion, and operators are paying for workarounds that are dirtier and less efficient than the grid power they cannot get.
- The choice between waiting roughly seven years for a grid connection in some markets and installing converted aircraft engines in about 24 months shapes where AI capacity gets built, and which communities host it.
- Efficiency and emissions concerns could turn today's stopgap into a stranded asset if scrutiny rises, as some experts cited by the Times expect.
Background
AI data centres consume large amounts of electricity, and the buildout has run ahead of the infrastructure meant to supply it: grid interconnection queues, new gas turbines and transmission upgrades all take years to deliver. Operators wanting capacity sooner have begun building on-site generation, and the Trump administration has encouraged data centres to produce their own power rather than wait on the grid. Converted jet engines are the latest and fastest version of that workaround.
Key Perspectives
Audun Martinsen, Rystad Energy: says speed is the whole point of the converted engines, telling the Times "It's all about getting power as fast as possible" and that a data centre can be running in 24 months.
Crusoe: a spokesperson told TechCrunch the company still plans to use turbines, after it walked away from a $1.25 billion deal for 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic.
Some experts, as cited by the Times: say efficiency and environmental concerns may grow in importance in a year or two, potentially making converted jet engines a short-term play.
What to Watch
- Whether grid operators accelerate connection timelines, which would undercut the case for on-site converted engines.
- Whether efficiency and emissions scrutiny of on-site generation increases as more capacity comes online.
- How much conventional generating capacity actually arrives by 2031, the timeframe a Mitsubishi Power executive gave Bloomberg.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline says some AI data centres are turning to converted jet engines as grid waits stretch for years.TechCrunch: “Stuck in years-long lines for grid connections and new turbines, some AI data centers are making their own electricity with converted jet engines”
- SupportedThe summary says jet-powered units can have a data centre running in about 24 months, according to the New York Times.TechCrunch: “With jet-powered units, “they can have a data center running in 24 months,” he said.”
- SupportedThe opening says operators face years-long waits for grid connections and new turbines.TechCrunch: “Stuck in years-long lines for grid connections and new turbines, some AI data centers are making their own electricity with converted jet engines”
- SupportedRystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen told the Times, “It's all about getting power as fast as possible.”TechCrunch: ““It’s all about getting power as fast as possible,” Rystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen told the Times.”
- SupportedMartinsen said, “they can have a data center running in 24 months.”TechCrunch: “With jet-powered units, “they can have a data center running in 24 months,” he said.”
- SupportedConnecting 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency.TechCrunch: “Hooking up 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia, by comparison, takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency.”
- SupportedMicrosoft pulled out as the anchor customer for Nscale’s Loughton data centre after the local utility said it could not deliver enough power until the early to mid-2030s.TechCrunch: “Last month, Microsoft pulled out as the anchor customer for Nscale’s data center in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it couldn’t deliver enough power until the early to mid-2030s.”
- SupportedxAI installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data centre in Memphis, as reported by the Times citing state permits and satellite imagery.TechCrunch: “Elon Musk’s xAI is among the companies already using the engines, having installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, the Times reported, citing state permits and satellite imagery.”
- SupportedThe units come from ProEnergy, which rebuilds a GE engine commonly found on Boeing jets.TechCrunch: “The units come from ProEnergy, which rebuilds a GE engine commonly found on Boeing jets.”
- SupportedCrusoe ordered 13 of ProEnergy’s converted units in April.TechCrunch: “Crusoe, a Denver-based startup that builds AI data centers, is constructing that Abilene campus and ordered 13 of ProEnergy’s converted units in April.”
- SupportedIn September, Crusoe walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic.TechCrunch: “In September, Crusoe walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic”
- SupportedConverted jet engines are less efficient and pollute more than turbines designed for conventional gas plants, and more units are needed to produce the same amount of power.TechCrunch: “They’re less efficient and pollute more than turbines designed for conventional gas plants, and it takes more of them to make the same amount of power, according to the Times.”
