Retired Jet Engines From Arizona Boneyards Are Being Converted Into Generators for Data Centers
Why It MattersRetired airframes are gaining a second market as power equipment, which could reshape end-of-life engine values and the supply of surplus engines available to aviation.
Several companies are rapidly stripping engines out of retired aircraft and converting them into electrical generators to meet surging U.S. electricity demand from data centers.
Thousands of retired aircraft sit nose-to-tail in boneyards across wide stretches of the Sonoran desert in Arizona, and many of their engines have not been fired up for years. Data centers, desperate for power, are buying the converted units. Bill Kleyman, chief executive of Apolo, said developers are now "getting creative" and are focused on "speed to power," meaning how fast they can obtain energy.
