SI data centers install converted jet engines amid long waits for electricity
Prepared by Sintelligent with the help of SI. Published in SI: . Updated: .
Computing projects can get electricity before a grid connection, but the speed comes at the cost of efficiency and additional emissions.
Engines removed from aircraft are being converted to natural gas to provide local generation sooner. Rystad Energy estimates that this approach can bring a facility online in about 24 months, while connecting 100 MW to the grid in Northern Virginia takes about seven years. xAI installed eight such ProEnergy turbines in Mississippi for Colossus 2, and Crusoe ordered 13 units for the Stargate site in Abilene. According to the New York Times, converted engines are less efficient and produce more pollution than turbines at conventional gas power plants, and more of them are needed for the same capacity.
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