Used turbines won’t offset much of the AI power delay, Enverus says

Second-hand turbines and converted jet engines are not likely to offset much of the power delay that AI data centers are facing, said Noor Qureshi, associate at Enverus Intelligence Research.

She said resale supply is already tight, with little spare equipment left, according to a Reuters report.

Global orders top 100 GW as makers build 60 to 70 GW a year

Qureshi expects the secondary market will only assist to a point. Turbines are one of a handful of obstacles, she said.

Projects also are held up by air permits and grid access.

Delivery for new turbine orders is estimated around 2030 and 2031. On average now, it takes six years to get a new gas turbine delivered in the United States, said Aurora Tenorio, senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

Turbine orders worldwide surpass 100 gigawatts. World production capacity is estimated at between 60 and 70 gigawatts a year.

US data centers alone account for about 17 gigawatts of turbine demand this year, according to Jefferies analysts. They expect the figure to more than triple by 2028.

Global turbine manufacturing capacity should hit about 87 gigawatts by 2028 but still fall short of 129 gigawatts of expected demand, the Jefferies analysts said.

Siemens Energy, GE Vernova and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries report that the AI boom has pushed orders past what their plants can build. The three command more than 70% of global gas turbine production capacity.

Siemens Energy’s profit before special items more than tripled to 1.62 billion euros in its fiscal third quarter.

Second-hand units sell for $1.5 million to $1.7 million per megawatt

Ana Amicarella, CEO of equipment services firm EthosEnergy, said the secondary market was thriving and asking prices were still rising as more buyers chased the same machines.

Used units that are well maintained are selling for about $1.5 million to $1.7 million per megawatt, and refurbished units are selling for about $1.3 million, said Zach Machuca, managing partner at Origin Partners. New turbines range in price from about $2 million to $2.5 million a megawatt.

Two 14.5 megawatt Solar Turbines units recently sold for $12.5 million, said Dan Poole, general manager at ReflowX. New units would take five years to deliver and cost about $35 million, he said.

Overhauled turbines could have unclear maintenance histories, short remaining life and poor long-term servicing, Tenorio said.

Crusoe in April ordered 13 aeroderivative turbines totaling 650 megawatts from ProEnergy for its US artificial intelligence data center projects.

Wärtsilä of Finland has won about 3 gigawatts of U.S. data center orders since spring 2025 for power units using gas engines, said Anders Lindberg, president of the energy business.

Chevron has signed a 20-year deal to build a dedicated gas plant for Microsoft’s data center campus in Pecos, Texas, that can reach 2.67 gigawatts, Cryptopolitan reported. GE Vernova to supply most of its turbines.

The International Energy Agency forecasts that global data center power use could reach 950 terawatt-hours in 2030, compared with 485 in 2025.