> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://theainewsfiles.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # AI data centres turn to converted jet engines as grid waits stretch, New York Times reports - URL: https://theainewsfiles.com/ai-data-centres-converted-jet-engines-xai-colossus-2/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:48:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-05T07:51:54.000Z - Description: Some AI data centres are making their own electricity with jet engines rebuilt to burn natural gas, TechCrunch reports, citing the New York Times. xAI is among them, with eight units in Mississippi. - Author: J E Cowie - Tags: News Some AI data centre operators stuck in years-long queues for grid connections and new turbines are generating their own electricity with converted jet engines, TechCrunch reported on 3 November 2026, citing the New York Times. The engines come from retired aircraft and are rebuilt to burn natural gas. TechCrunch describes them as nobody's idea of a permanent power plant, but a sign of how far power supply has fallen behind the AI buildout. Most of what follows rests on TechCrunch's account of the Times' reporting, with Tom's Hardware adding detail on the permits. We could not read the Times article itself. ![Map showing where Memphis is](https://theainewsfiles.com/content/images/2026/11/map_memphis.jpg) Memphis, Shelby County, United States ## Why jet engines The draw is speed. "It's all about getting power as fast as possible," Rystad Energy analyst Audun Martinsen told the Times, as quoted by TechCrunch. He added that with jet-powered units, "they can have a data center running in 24 months." TechCrunch sets that against the grid. It says hooking up 100 megawatts in Northern Virginia takes about seven years, according to the International Energy Agency. It also reports that an executive at Mitsubishi Power, one of the world's top makers of power generation equipment, told Bloomberg last week that most power capacity is expected to come on by 2031. TechCrunch says the delays are already costing some operators business. Last month, it reports, Microsoft pulled out as anchor customer for [Nscale's data centre](https://theainewsfiles.com/nvidia-nscale-anthropic-west-virginia-debt-guarantee-talks/) in Loughton, England, after the local utility said it couldn't deliver enough power until the early to mid-2030s. TechCrunch also says the Trump administration is adding to the pressure by encouraging data centres to generate their own electricity. ## xAI's eight units According to TechCrunch, Elon Musk's xAI has installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data centre in Memphis. The Times reported this citing state permits and satellite imagery. The units come from ProEnergy, which rebuilds a GE engine commonly found on Boeing jets. Tom's Hardware, which also covered the story on 3 November, describes ProEnergy as a Missouri-based outfit that repurposes unused General Electric turbines of the type attached to Boeing aircraft. It says each turbine can produce up to 50 megawatts, which it says would normally keep around 15,000 homes running. ## OpenAI, Crusoe and Boom TechCrunch reports that 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 centres, is constructing that campus. TechCrunch says Crusoe ordered 13 of ProEnergy's converted units in April. In September, according to TechCrunch, Crusoe walked away from a $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 natural gas turbines from Boom Supersonic. Boom is 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 centres. A Crusoe spokesperson told TechCrunch at the time that the company still plans to use turbines. ## Trade-offs and objections TechCrunch, citing the Times, says converted jet engines are less efficient and pollute more than turbines designed for conventional gas plants, and that it takes more of them to produce the same amount of power. It adds that some experts say efficiency and environmental concerns may grow in importance in a year or two. TechCrunch's own reading is that this could make converted engines a short-term play. Tom's Hardware reports that the xAI turbines have the required state permits, which allow a 25% higher limit for volatile organic compounds. It says environmentalists are warning about those compounds together with carbon monoxide. Citing the Times, it reports that the Southern Environmental Law Center has challenged Mississippi's decision to approve the turbines. The group argues that xAI has not provided guarantees that the jet-powered turbines meet emissions standards for specific pollutants, including formaldehyde. It also accuses xAI of undercounting projected emissions, according to Tom's Hardware. Neither Tom's Hardware nor TechCrunch reports a response from xAI to these claims. ## A separate case over Colossus A separate legal fight concerns permits for gas turbines at the Colossus site outside Memphis. TechCrunch reported on 31 October that a federal judge had denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit. Suing on the NAACP's behalf, the Southern Environmental Law Center alleges that xAI "installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution at the Colossus site without ever obtaining the necessary preconstruction or operating air permits," and that it violated the Clean Air Act. xAI had argued that the turbines are exempt from permitting requirements because they are mobile, and that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. Judge Debra M. Brown wrote that the plaintiffs have statutory standing under the Clean Air Act, that the combustion turbines are not "mobile sources" under Mississippi's State Implementation Plan, and that the citizen suit provision does not violate Article II of the Constitution or the private nondelegation doctrine, so "the plaintiffs' claims will proceed." The NAACP's director of environmental and climate justice, Abre' Conner, said: "Our position has been clear: xAI cannot operate gas turbines without the required permits." TechCrunch's report on that case does not say whether the turbines at issue are the converted jet engines. Tom's Hardware notes that the same group sued xAI earlier, alleging that it used gas generators without the required permits in an area with more than 100,000 inhabitants. ## What is established The New York Times reported that xAI has installed eight converted jet-engine turbines in Mississippi to help power its Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, citing state permits and satellite imagery. According to the Times, converted jet engines are less efficient and pollute more than turbines designed for conventional gas plants. A federal judge has denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit over permits for gas turbines at its Colossus data center outside Memphis. ## Sources Haslam, O. (2026) 'Elon Musk's xAI installs eight converted jet engines to power Mississippi data center — permits allow 25 percent higher limit for pollutants, concerns raised over carbon monoxide', Tom's Hardware, 3 November 2026, available at: [https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/elon-musks-xai-installs-eight-converted-jet-engines-to-power-mississippi-data-center-permits-allow-25-percent-higher-limit-for-pollutants-concerns-raised-over-carbon-monoxide](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/elon-musks-xai-installs-eight-converted-jet-engines-to-power-mississippi-data-center-permits-allow-25-percent-higher-limit-for-pollutants-concerns-raised-over-carbon-monoxide?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 4 November 2026). Ha, A. (2026) 'Judge allows NAACP lawsuit over xAI data center pollution to move forward', TechCrunch, 31 October 2026, available at: [https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/31/judge-allows-naacp-lawsuit-over-xai-data-center-pollution-to-move-forward/](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/31/judge-allows-naacp-lawsuit-over-xai-data-center-pollution-to-move-forward/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 4 November 2026). Mehta, A. (2026) 'Data centers are turning to old jet engines as the wait for power grows', TechCrunch, 3 November 2026, available at: [https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/03/data-centers-are-turning-to-old-jet-engines-as-the-wait-for-power-grows/](https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/03/data-centers-are-turning-to-old-jet-engines-as-the-wait-for-power-grows/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 4 November 2026). The New York Times (2026) Reporting on converted jet engines powering AI data centres, 3 November 2026, as reported by TechCrunch (Mehta, 2026). Not accessed directly. ## Picture credits - Top picture: Memphis, where xAI's Colossus 2 data centre is located. Image: Memphis, TN skyline along the Mississippi River — Quintin Soloviev, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Memphis,%5FTN%5Fskyline%5Falong%5Fthe%5FMississippi%5FRiver.jpg?ref=theainewsfiles.com)) - Map: drawn from [Natural Earth](https://www.naturalearthdata.com/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (public domain) and [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16563?ref=theainewsfiles.com).