Converted jet engines power AI data centres as grid queues stretch to 2031

Eight jet engines in Mississippi

xAI installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi. They help power its Colossus 2 data centre in Memphis. TechCrunch reported the installation on 3 November, citing the New York Times. The units come from ProEnergy. ProEnergy rebuilds a GE engine commonly found on Boeing jets.

Power availability, not chip supply, now sets the pace of new AI capacity. Operators are buying speed with dirtier, less efficient generation. That pushes the argument to state regulators and host communities. Those bodies must weigh air permits against promised jobs and investment. The number of converted engines running across the sector is not public. The permits already face a legal challenge.

The pitch is speed. Rystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen told the Times that jet-powered units can have a data centre running in 24 months. Hooking up 100 MW to the grid in Northern Virginia takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency.

The trade-offs operators accept

Converted jet engines are less efficient and pollute more than turbines built for conventional gas plants, according to the Times. The Times also says it takes more of them to make the same power.

The permits reflect that gap. Mississippi's approval allows a 25% higher limit for volatile organic compounds. Tom's Hardware reported that carbon monoxide emissions and that allowance have environmentalists warning the approach is a step in the wrong direction. The Southern Environmental Law Center has challenged the state's decision to approve the turbines.

The group argues xAI has not guaranteed the units meet emissions standards for pollutants including formaldehyde. It accuses the company of undercounting projected emissions. The same group previously sued xAI over its use of gas generators without the required permits.

Why the grid cannot wait

An executive at Mitsubishi Power spoke to Bloomberg last week. Most power capacity is expected to come on by 2031, the executive said. Some turbine models are effectively sold out through 2031, according to Data Center Knowledge.

The queue is already costing operators business. Last month Microsoft pulled out as anchor customer for Nscale's data centre in Loughton, England. The local utility had said it could not deliver enough power until the early to mid-2030s. On 3 November TerraVolt acquired a site in Idaho. It plans to develop a 240MW gas-powered behind-the-meter campus there, DataCenterDynamics reported. California Resources and Bloom Energy are eyeing 1GW of fuel cells across California. The cells would serve data centres and other offtakers, the same outlet reported.

Those delays reshape site selection long before they change the technology.

The policy tailwind

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Oct. 21. He said new large-scale data centres should generate their own electricity. They should give or sell any excess back to the local community or grid.

Equipment is the constraint. Components for gas-fired, nuclear and battery-backed onsite power systems are already in tight supply, according to Data Center Knowledge.

Patrick Hughes is senior vice president at the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. He said a standalone AI data centre can technically supply its own power. Running 100% onsite reliably around the clock is harder, he said. It requires significant operational management and maintenance. Hughes added that permitting timelines, fuel and equipment supply chains, interconnection rules and community considerations vary widely by location. Many facilities may end up with a hybrid approach, he said. That approach combines onsite generation and storage with a grid connection.

A short-term fix

Crusoe is the Denver startup building OpenAI's Abilene, Texas campus. It ordered 13 of ProEnergy's converted units in April. In September it walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic.

Boom has begun selling a version of its supersonic jet's engine as a power plant for data centres, TechCrunch reported. A Crusoe spokesperson told TechCrunch at the time that the company still plans to use turbines. Crusoe's order and its cancelled Boom deal point the same way. Operators want turbines they can get.