U.S. Data Centers Turn to Old Jet Engines to Power AI

Companies are racing to turn retired jet engines into generators for U.S. data centers, as the rush to expand artificial intelligence clashes with years of waiting for grid connections and conventional turbines.

ProEnergy and FTAI Aviation are among the businesses pursuing the market, drawing on aircraft engines previously sold mainly for reuse in aviation or spare parts.

Data center developers are prioritizing how quickly they can secure electricity, according to The New York Times.

The conversions offer faster access to power, but aircraft turbines generally consume more fuel and produce more pollution than equipment designed for conventional gas-fired plants.

A Market for Retired Engines

FTAI, a New York-based aircraft engine leasing and repair company, established a business last year to adapt retired Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 engines for electricity generation.

An FTAI joint venture agreed in July to supply converted turbines to a data center developer under a $1.5 billion deal.

The company is also installing a conversion production line at its Montreal facility.

“Customers want units, now,” David Moreno, FTAI’s president, told investors in April.

Missouri-based ProEnergy converts a General Electric turbine used in Boeing aircraft.

Each unit can generate 50 megawatts, according to company executive Landon Tessmer, who said data center demand had overtaken demand from traditional utilities.

Boom Supersonic, originally focused on developing supersonic passenger aircraft, is also targeting data center power generation with its engines.

Electricity Becomes the Bottleneck

Developers face long queues for both grid access and standard generating equipment.

Audun Martinsen, an analyst at Rystad Energy, said aircraft-derived units could allow a data center to start operating within 24 months.

Elon Musk described electricity as the principal constraint on AI development in February.

“The chips are going to be piling up and not be able to be turned on,” he said on Dwarkesh Patel’s podcast.

The search for equipment is reaching aircraft storage facilities. Ascent Aviation Services, which operates Arizona’s Pinal Airpark, reported increased inquiries from energy developers over the past year.

Conversion involves removing the engine’s fan and outer casing, adapting its combustion system for natural gas and connecting a shaft to a generator through a gearbox.

ProEnergy says its process also includes cooling systems, emissions controls and noise-reducing enclosures.

Pollution Permits Under Challenge

Musk’s xAI has installed eight converted turbines at a Mississippi data center, according to state permits and satellite images examined by the Times.

The permits authorize carbon monoxide emissions at twice the rate allowed for other turbines at the site, alongside a 25% higher limit for volatile organic compounds.

Both pollutants carry significant health risks.

The Southern Environmental Law Center has challenged the state’s approval.

It alleges the generator manufacturer has not provided documentation demonstrating compliance with standards for pollutants including formaldehyde, and that xAI understated its expected emissions.

The Trump administration is encouraging developers to install their own generation.

It also intervened in a separate legal challenge over xAI’s generators, arguing that the lawsuit threatened national security by obstructing the president’s pursuit of AI leadership.