Data center developers face a major energy challenge as they rush to build larger facilities to capitalize on the potential of generative AI. They usually supply these centers with electricity by connecting to the grid or building power plant on the spot. However, they face serious delays in providing gas turbines or in obtaining energy from the grid.
At the Data Center World Power show in San Antonio in October, a natural gas power provider ProEnergy identified an alternative – repurposing aircraft engines. According to Landon Tessmervice president Commercial operations at ProEnergy, some data centers are using his company PE6000 gas turbines to provide the electricity needed during construction of the data center and during its first few years of operation. When grid power is available, these machines either return to a backup role, supplement the grid, or are sold to the local utility.
“We sold 21 gas turbines for two data center projects totaling over 1 gigawatt (GW),” says Tessmer. “Both projects are expected to provide intermediate power supply for five to seven years, at which time they plan to provide interconnection and no longer need continuous behind-the-meter generation.”
Bridging the power gap with a new type of aircraft turbine
This is a common and long-established practice gas turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as G.E. Vernova And Siemens Energy convert a successful aircraft engine for stationary power generation installations. Known as aircraft gas turbines, these machines have carved out a niche for themselves because they are lighter, smaller and easier to maintain than traditional heavy-frame gas turbines.
“It takes a lot of effort to industrialize an aircraft engine and get it to generate power,” says Mark Axford, president of Axford Turbine Consultants, a gas turbine consultant and used turbine evaluation expert.
For example, G.E. Vernova Gas turbine LM6000 was based on the successful GE CF6-80C2 turbofan engine, which was widely used in commercial aircraft. The CF6-80C2 was first released in 1985, and the LM6000 hit the market five years later. To make it suitable for electricity productionit required an extended turbine section to convert engine thrust into shaft power, a series of struts and supports to mount it on a concrete platform or steel frame, and new controls. Further modifications usually include the development of fuel injectors, which allow the machine to run at natural gas rather than aviation fueland a combustion chamber that minimizes emissions of nitrogen oxides, a major pollutant.
“There are simply not enough gas turbines, and the problem is likely to get worse,” says Paul Browning, general manager Power Generation Solutionsformer head of GE Power & Water (now GE Vernova) and Mitsubishi Power. Contact GE Vernova to order your LM6000 today (or Siemens Energy SGT-A35 aircraft derivative gas turbine), and you may be told that the waiting list is three to five years. Some larger and more popular models have even longer waiting lines.
In contrast, “ProEnergy’s PE6000 could be delivered in 2027,” Tessmer says.
ProEnergy Vice President Landon Tessmer spoke at the Data Center World Power conference in October 2025.World Power Data Center
Converted turbofan aircraft engine could provide 48 megawatts of power
ProEnergy buys and repairs used CF6-80C2 Engine cores – the central part of the engine where combustion occurs – and matches them with newly manufactured aircraft parts made by ProEnergy or its partners. Once assembled and tested, these refurbished engines are ready for use. second life in power generation, where they provide 48 megawatts (MW), enough to power a small to medium-sized data center (or perhaps a city from 20,000 to 40,000 households). About 1,000 of these aircraft engines are expected to retire over the next decade, so there is no shortage of them, Tessmer said. A large data center may require that exceeds 100 MWand some of the newest data centers being designed for AI are over 1 GW in capacity.
A major overhaul returns the engine and its components to like-new condition. Each of its thousands of parts is disassembled, cleaned, inspected, and then repaired or replaced as needed. In this way, the engine is renewed for another long cycle of operation. With the exception of the engine core, every part inside the PE6000 turbine is manufactured to ProEnergy specifications. “We can overhaul the high-pressure core of any CF6-80C2 and fabricate all the low-pressure components,” Tessmer adds.
ProEnergy sells twin-turbine units in a standard configuration. It consists of gas turbines, generators and a variety of other devices such as systems for cooling the air entering the turbine on hot days to improve performance, selective catalytic reduction systems to reduce emissions and various electrical systems. The company focuses exclusively on one engine, the CF6-80C2, to optimize and simplify design and maintenance.
The PE6000 was originally intended for use by utilities that required more power during peak hours. data center boom has turned that expectation on its head: Data center operators want these motors to power the entire facility. They run on natural gas and, once started, can be ready to go in five minutes. If maintenance is required, it can be replaced with a spare within 72 hours. Emission levels average 2.5 ppm for nitric oxidewhich is significantly lower EPA Regulated Levels (typically 10 to 25 ppm, depending on use). Since 2020, ProEnergy has manufactured 75 PE6000 enclosures, and currently has 52 more being assembled or on order.
Long network delays mean business growth
Many factors contribute to this popularity. In addition to the growth in the number of data centers, there is often long wait for power lineswhich may face local resistance and require permitting from multiple municipalities or states. “Aerospace gas turbines are gaining popularity as an interim technology that operates behind the meter until the utility can supply power to the grid,” Tessmer says.
Tessmer has seen examples of delays of eight to 10 years just getting permits issued. If connecting to the grid continues to take years, at least in some regions, and unless gas turbine manufacturers dramatically increase output, bridged power could become an indispensable means of building artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Articles from your site
Related articles on the Internet
