Power & Sites · United States

Data centers are turning to old jet engines as the wait for power grows

Credited to TechCrunch · techcrunch.com · 2h ago

Stuck in years-long lines for grid connections and new turbines, some AI data centers are making their own electricity with converted jet engines, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The engines, pulled from retired aircraft and rebuilt to burn natural gas, aren’t anyone’s idea of a permanent power plant. But they’re another sign of how far power supply has fallen behind the AI buildout.

For companies stuck in those lines, the main draw of converted jet engines is how quickly the engines can be up and running. “It’s all about getting power as fast as possible,” Rystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen told the Times. With jet-powered units, “they can have a data center running in 24 months,” he said.

Hooking up 100 megawatts to the grid in Northern Virginia, by comparison, takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency. Most power capacity is expected to come on by 2031, an executive at Mitsubishi Power, one of the world’s top makers of power generation equipment told Bloomberg last week.

In some cases, these delays are already costing some data center operators business. Last month, Microsoft pulled out as the anchor customer for Nscale’s data center in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it couldn’t deliver enough power until the early-to-mid 2030s.

Elon Musk’s xAI is among the companies already using the engines, having installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, the Times reported, citing state permits and satellite imagery. The units come from ProEnergy, which rebuilds a GE engine commonly found on Boeing jets.

In 2025, OpenAI followed Musk’s lead with gas turbines at its first Stargate site in Abilene, Texas. Crusoe, a Denver-based startup that builds AI data centers, is constructing that Abilene campus and ordered 13 of ProEnergy’s converted units in April.

In September, Crusoe walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic, a startup developing a supersonic passenger jet that has also begun selling a version of that jet’s engine as a power plant for data centers. A Crusoe spokesperson told TechCrunch at the time that the company still plans to use turbines.

Currently the Trump administration is adding to the pressure by encouraging data centers to generate their own electricity.

Converted jet engines come with trade-offs, though: They’re less efficient and pollute more than turbines designed for conventional gas plants and it takes more of them to make the same amount of power, according to the Times. That may ultimately make converted jet engines a short-term play with some experts saying that efficiency and environmental concerns may grow in importance in a year or two.

Power & SitesUnited States

Big Tech, environmental groups in talks for potential data center framework

Credited to The Hill · thehill.com1h ago

Useful

Environmental activists and Big Tech appear to be working jointly on a framework for data center development, according to a document reviewed by The Hill. The document states that the organizations are part of a “Responsible Data Center Development Collaborative” that seeks to…

View the articleThe Hill

Front

Power & Sites · United States

PSEG Power plans 200-MW nuclear uprate as company eyes data center deals

Credited to Utility Dive · utilitydive.com · 9h ago

But one of the units at the Salem plant in New Jersey, which is jointly owned with Constellation Energy, faces an extended outage to deal with degraded equipment, according to federal filings.

PSEG Power and Constellation Energy are planning a 200-MW uprate at their jointly owned Salem nuclear power plant in southern New Jersey, according to an earnings presentation by Public Service Enterprise Group, PSEG Power’s parent company.

Salem’s current installed capacity is 2,280 MW. PSEG Power would have a 112-MW share of the uprate and Constellation would own the remainder, which would support a recently announced nuclear-focused power purchase agreement with Google.

PSEG Power’s roughly 3,760-MW nuclear fleet ran at a 95.5% capacity factor in the third quarter, up from 92.4% in the same period last year, according to the presentation.

However, there has been a snag at the Salem plant, PSEG said Monday in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

During a scheduled refueling outage at Salem 1, a visual inspection last month revealed that the thermal shield inside the reactor vessel is degraded, according to the filing.

“We have initiated further testing, which is ongoing and is expected to extend the refueling outage,” PSEG said. “The impact of the outage on Salem 1 will depend on the timing and results of the inspection and necessary repairs.”

Meanwhile, PSEG continues to explore potential deals with data center developers centered around PSEG Power’s roughly 3.8-GW nuclear fleet, according to Ralph LaRossa, PSEG chair, president and CEO.

“PSEG Power is continuing to develop terms with large load entities for contracting arrangements involving existing nuclear production, future nuclear upgrades and other generation opportunities, similar to recently announced power purchase agreements in the PJM region and specifically in New Jersey,” he said during the earnings call.

FERC’s recent decision to reject key portions of the PJM Interconnection proposed plan for interconnection data centers and other large loads “reinforces that the focus has shifted to the states to address retail curtailment and cost issues associated with large load customers,” LaRossa said.

Public Service Electric and Gas Co., a PSEG utility, is working with the administration of New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D, and the state’s utility regulators to limit electric cost increases for consumers and consider new utility regulatory models, according to LaRossa.

PSE&G, for example, plans to ask the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to approve a plan for recovering the costs for investments made since its last distribution rate case, LaRossa said.

“Our filing … is all about staying aligned with the governor's goals to keep rates flat for as long as possible,” he said. The utility expects to file the proposal by the end of the year, PSEG said in its SEC filing.

Meanwhile, the BPU’s study on modernizing New Jersey's electric utility business model is now in its second phase, LaRossa noted.

“This initiative is focusing on cost discipline, financing modernization, targeted incentives and shared savings and staged performance-based ratemaking,” he said.

Those and other options mentioned in the Phase 1 report, such as multi-year rate plans, performance-based rates, performance incentive metrics, earnings sharing mechanisms, decoupling and shared saving mechanisms, provide “constructive paths to strengthen the connection between customer value, cost accountability and timely recovery of prudent investment,” LaRossa said.

PSE&G may have opportunities to invest in solar and grid readiness for distributed resources, but the extent of it could hinge on the state allowing utilities to own generating assets, according to LaRossa.

“I think the policy is not yet certain here in New Jersey as to whether or not it will move in a regulated direction or stay solely competitive,” he said.

On the financial front, PSEG’s third-quarter income fell to $376 million, or 76 cents/share, down from $622 million, or $1.25/share a year ago, mainly on mark-to-market losses at PSEG Power, the Newark, New Jersey-based company said in its SEC filing.

Third-quarter revenue slipped to $3 billion from $3.2 billion in the same period last year.