Using jet engines for power generation at AI centers.

14•testrun•3mo ago

From LinkedIn:

Data centers can’t get grid power for 7 years.

So they’re bolting old 747 engines to concrete instead.

This is infrastructure failure, not innovation.

ProEnergy has sold 21 repurposed jet engines to power data centers. 48 megawatts each. These are CF6-80C2 cores, retrofitted from airplane engines into stationary power plants.

They weren’t designed for continuous ground operation as primary power sources.

Think about what that means.

In Memphis, Elon Musk’s xAI ran 35 gas turbines in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Purpose-built turbines with emission controls. Nitrogen dioxide levels still jumped 79% near the facility. Cancer risk already 4x the national average went higher.

Residents found out through a press release. Noise hit 90 decibels. People put mattresses against windows.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7387850454958911488/

Comments

reverendjames•3mo ago

The only thing new here is running them continuously. They were typically on standby for peak shaving or to avoid rolling blackouts during high peak loads or unanticipated contingencies. I operate 15 "747 engines" to produce electricity. They were installed in 1995.

softwaredoug•3mo ago

The bubble can’t pop fast enough

journal•3mo ago

we're gonna cook ourselves to death with these tokens. if i was a billionaire i'd be enriching uranium under one of those data centers. if walter white could build a lab under a laundromat, a billionaire could figure out how to enrich uranium under a data center.

mikewarot•3mo ago

I wouldn't mess with enrichment, I'd just go for a breeder reactor, once you start producing pu that is much easier to separate and process into more fuel.

Just start with a big enough pile of natural tubealloy and keep taking away fuel as it builds activity. Experience has shown that disused athletic facilities should be sufficient.

What could possibly go wrong? ;-)

farseer•3mo ago

You can also build data centers in far off places, near dams or wind corridors. We are not at the level of desperation to start nuclear programs underground.

Ask HN: Anyone Using a Mac Studio for Local AI/LLM?

Ask HN: Ideas for small ways to make the world a better place

Ask HN: Non AI-obsessed tech forums

Ask HN: 10 months since the Llama-4 release: what happened to Meta AI?

Ask HN: Non-profit, volunteers run org needs CRM. Is Odoo Community a good sol.?

AI Regex Scientist: A self-improving regex solver

Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (February 2026)

Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2026)

Tell HN: Another round of Zendesk email spam

Ask HN: Is Connecting via SSH Risky?

Ask HN: Has your whole engineering team gone big into AI coding? How's it going?

Ask HN: Why LLM providers sell access instead of consulting services?

Ask HN: What is the most complicated Algorithm you came up with yourself?

Ask HN: How does ChatGPT decide which websites to recommend?

Ask HN: Any International Job Boards for International Workers?

Ask HN: Is it just me or are most businesses insane?

Ask HN: Mem0 stores memories, but doesn't learn user patterns

Ask HN: Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?

Kernighan on Programming

Ask HN: Anyone Seeing YT ads related to chats on ChatGPT?

Ask HN: Does global decoupling from the USA signal comeback of the desktop app?

We built a serverless GPU inference platform with predictable latency

Ask HN: How Did You Validate?

Ask HN: Does a good "read it later" app exist?

Ask HN: Have you been fired because of AI?

Ask HN: Cheap laptop for Linux without GUI (for writing)

Ask HN: Anyone have a "sovereign" solution for phone calls?

Test management tools for automation heavy teams

Ask HN: OpenClaw users, what is your token spend?

Ask HN: Has anybody moved their local community off of Facebook groups?