Making AI Headlines · Page 6
Data Centers Discover the Future Can Run on Retired Jet Engines
· New York time
Some data center builders are turning to discarded jet engines for power as they face years-long waits for grid access and new turbines. The engines offer a faster alternative, though the reported approach is less efficient and less environmentally friendly than conventional options. The attraction is timing. AI data centers need electricity, and a developer cannot simply assume that a new facility will receive all the power it wants as soon as the building is ready. When grid connections and new equipment take years, an older machine can look appealing because it is available sooner. That speed comes with tradeoffs. A less efficient source can require more fuel for the power it provides, while the environmental drawbacks sit awkwardly beside the industry's vision of a high-tech future. The decision is not that an old jet engine is the ideal power plant. It is that waiting for a preferred option can be costly when builders want to start sooner. The result is a striking pairing: a system marketed as the frontier of computing may rely on equipment discarded from another industry. The chatbot gets the futuristic introduction, while the retired engine does the less glamorous work behind the curtain. In the race to build tomorrow, the power supply has apparently been shopping secondhand.
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