Thousands of retired aircraft sit in storage yards across Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Now, as data centers drive up demand for electricity in the United States, companies are removing their jet engines and converting them into generators. Data center developers seeking power quickly are buying the equipment, despite concerns about its efficiency and emissions.
The converted turbines offer an alternative for companies facing long waits to connect to the grid or obtain conventional gas turbines. Energy analyst Audun Martinsen of Rystad Energy said a data center could be brought online in 24 months using these units, rather than waiting years for grid access. He described the current priority as getting power as soon as possible, regardless of cost or efficiency.
The technology repurposes an aircraft engine to generate electricity instead of thrust. Workers remove the outer casing and fan, modify the combustion chamber to burn natural gas, then connect the central shaft to a gearbox and electrical generator. According to ProEnergy executive Landon Tessmer, each of the company’s turbines can produce 50 megawatts—enough to power 15,000 homes.
The approach has drawbacks. Reused aircraft turbines tend to be less efficient and more polluting than engines designed for conventional gas power plants, meaning data centers need more of them to produce the same amount of electricity. Environmental advocates have criticized the trend as a step backward. Patrick Anderson, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said power generation should become cleaner over time, not dirtier.
The environmental concerns are evident in permits for eight converted turbines installed by Elon Musk’s xAI in Mississippi, according to state records and satellite images reviewed by The New York Times. The permits allow the generators to emit carbon monoxide at twice the rate permitted for other turbines at the site, and set a 25% higher limit for volatile organic compounds. Both pollutants pose significant health risks. Neither xAI nor ProEnergy commented on the concerns. Google said it had chosen to wait for electricity connected to the grid.
Several companies are moving into the market. ProEnergy converts a General Electric turbine commonly used in Boeing aircraft. FTAI Aviation, which leases and repairs jet engines, launched a division last year to convert engines from retired Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft. A joint venture involving FTAI signed a $1.5 billion agreement in July to supply converted turbines to a data center developer. Boom Supersonic, initially focused on bringing back supersonic passenger travel, is also shifting toward using its jet engines for data centers.
The scale of potential supply is substantial: in January, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said engines from 4,000 retired military jets at a single desert base near Tucson could generate 40,000 megawatts of power. But aviation expert Scott Marchand questioned whether converted engines could be a viable main power source for a massive AI data center, citing their maintenance costs, fuel consumption and heat output.
The push for alternative power comes as AI companies struggle to secure enough electricity. In February, Musk said power—not computer chips—had become the main bottleneck for AI development, warning that chips could accumulate without being put to use. The Trump administration has encouraged data centers to generate their own electricity amid concerns that their construction could raise power prices. In a court filing related to a lawsuit over xAI’s generators, the administration argued that the case threatened national security by undermining President Donald Trump’s goal of global AI dominance.
Sources: Folha Mercado.