Data centre builders turn to converted jet engines amid power shortage

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 4 Nov, 22:40 · Archive

AI data centre operators are using converted jet engines to generate power because grid connections and new turbines take years to obtain.

AI data centre operators are turning to converted jet engines to generate their own electricity because grid connections and new turbines take years to obtain. The engines, rebuilt from retired aircraft to burn natural gas, represent a stopgap solution as power supply lags far behind the AI buildout.

Elon Musk's xAI has already installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data centre in Memphis. The units come from ProEnergy, which rebuilds GE engines commonly found on Boeing jets. With such engines, data centres can be running in 24 months, according to Rystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen, compared to about seven years to hook up 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia. Power supply delays are already affecting investment: Microsoft pulled out as the anchor customer for a data centre in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it could not deliver enough power until the early to mid-2030s.

The environmental cost is substantial. Sierra Club warns that electricity demand from planned US data centre developments could increase national CO2 emissions by 42 per cent by 2030, reaching 2.1 billion metric tons. Natural gas remains the dominant power source for approximately 40 per cent of US data centres, whilst renewable energy additions struggle to match rapidly increasing consumption. Competition for electricity generation equipment has increased turbine prices by 50 per cent, with manufacturers reporting production backlogs extending several years into the future.

How it is being reported

• Experts warn building new data centers across the US could wipe out the last 15 years of greenhouse gas progressUS data centre expansion could increase emissions as gas turbines meet rising demand and renewable generation struggles to keep pace.TechRadar · 4 Nov, 22:10
• Data centers are turning to old jet engines as the wait for power growsThe years-long wait for access to the grid and new turbines is causing data center builders to turn to an unusual, less efficient and less environmentally friendly solution: once-discarded jet engines.TechCrunch · 3 Nov, 22:19

In this story: Elon Musk · xAI · Microsoft · Sierra Club · ProEnergy · General Electric · Memphis · Loughton

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