AI Data Centers Are Buying Used Jet Engines as New Power Turbines Take Six Years
In brief
- Global gas turbine orders exceed 100 gigawatts, versus estimated annual manufacturing capacity of 60 to 70 gigawatts.
- AI infrastructure firm Crusoe ordered 13 jet-engine-derived turbines capable of producing 650 megawatts of electricity.
- Used turbines are cheaper and potentially faster to obtain, but limited supply, maintenance issues and pollution permits remain obstacles.
AI data-center developers are hunting for used gas turbines and retired jet engines because ordering brand-new power equipment could leave their servers waiting for electricity until the next decade.
Some companies are buying refurbished machines, while others are converting aircraft-engine technology into generators that can run alongside their computing facilities.
New gas turbines now take an average of six years to deliver in the United States, according to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Delivery discussions are already focused on 2030 and 2031, a timeline that clashes with an AI industry trying to bring enormous computing campuses online much sooner.
Global turbine orders have topped 100 gigawatts, compared with manufacturers' estimated annual capacity of just 60 to 70 gigawatts, Reuters reported. Siemens Energy, GE Vernova, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have all said orders are outpacing what they can produce.
Gas turbines can generate large amounts of electricity by burning natural gas to spin equipment connected to a generator. AI data centers need that power around the clock to run densely packed chips and cooling systems, and connecting new facilities to public electricity grids can itself take years.
The International Energy Agency expects global data-center electricity consumption to nearly double from 485 terawatt-hours in 2025 to 950 in 2030. Consumption at AI-focused facilities is projected to triple over the same period.
From airplane engines to AI power plants
One way around the backlog is an aeroderivative turbine, a power generator built using technology adapted from aircraft jet engines.
Other companies are going further by seeking older machines and retired aircraft engines that can be rebuilt for stationary power production. For example, AI infrastructure firm Crusoe ordered 13 units from Missouri-based ProEnergy in April, each rated at 50 megawatts, for a combined 650 megawatts. The jet-engine-derived equipment is intended for future U.S. data centers, but the contract doesn’t mean that Crusoe bought engines removed from retired aircraft.
Second-hand machines can also carry a substantial discount. Used turbines in good condition sell for about $1.5 million to $1.7 million per megawatt, compared with roughly $2 million to $2.5 million for new units, according to equipment brokers and energy analysts interviewed by Reuters.
→One broker described a sale of two smaller turbines totaling 29 megawatts for $12.5 million. Equivalent new equipment would have cost about $35 million and taken five years to arrive, he said.
“That secondary market is very, very hot right now,” EthosEnergy CEO Ana Amicarella told Reuters, adding that asking prices are climbing as more buyers compete for the same machinery.
The problem with second-hand power
Building a power plant beside a data center also brings fuel needs, air emissions, and permits into the equation. The Environmental Protection Agency says stationary turbines and engines used by data centers are subject to federal air-pollution standards.
Last week, OpenAI promised to cover electricity and grid costs at future campuses it owns and operates after voters backed tighter restrictions on data-center construction.
Power-market research firm Cleanview identified about 90 gigawatts of proposed on-site generation at U.S. data centers in its mid-2026 analysis. Only about 2 gigawatts was operating at the time
Developers are looking beyond turbines, too. Finnish manufacturer Wärtsilä told Reuters it had booked around 3 gigawatts of orders from U.S. data centers since spring 2025 for generators powered by gas engines rather than turbines.
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