Faced with long delays in securing grid power, U.S. data centers are turning to aeroderivative gas turbines—retired commercial jet engines repurposed as mobile generators—to meet surging energy demands driven by AI expansion. These trailer-mounted units, derived from aircraft like the Boeing 767 and Airbus A310, can deliver up to 48 megawatts each and spin up in minutes. Vendors such as ProEnergy and Mitsubishi Power offer fast-deploying models like the LM6000 and FT8 MOBILEPAC. Though less efficient than combined-cycle plants and reliant on diesel or gas, they provide a critical stopgap as utilities struggle to keep pace. OpenAI’s parent company is deploying nearly 30 LM2500XPRESS units in Texas for its Stargate project, underscoring the urgency. While noisy and fuel-intensive, these turbines offer rapid deployment and cold-start capability, helping data centers stay online amid a nationwide AI-driven power crunch.
Read more at Tom’s Hardware
www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers-turn-to-ex-airliner-engines-as-ai-power-crunch-bites
