Second-hand turbines and converted jet engines are unlikely to offset much of the power delays confronting AI data centers, said Noor Qureshi, an associate at Enverus Intelligence Research, according to a Reuters report. She said resale supply is already tight, with little spare equipment left. For data center operators, power readiness, not hardware alone, determines when new AI capacity can go live.

Qureshi expects the secondary market will only help to a point, noting that turbines are just one of several obstacles. Projects are also being held up by air permits and grid access.

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

New turbine orders are estimated to be delivered around 2030 and 2031. On average, it now 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, while global production capacity is estimated at between 60 and 70 gigawatts a year — an order book larger than a full year of global output.

US data centers alone account for about 17 gigawatts of turbine demand this year, according to Jefferies analysts, who expect the figure to more than triple by 2028, to more than 50 gigawatts. Global turbine manufacturing capacity should reach about 87 gigawatts by 2028 but would still fall short of the 129 gigawatts of expected demand — a gap of roughly 42 gigawatts — the 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, a concentration that leaves global output growth largely in those three companies' hands. Siemens Energy, meanwhile, more than tripled its profit before special items to 1.62 billion euros in its fiscal third quarter, Cryptopolitan reported.

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

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

Well-maintained used units are selling for about $1.5 million to $1.7 million per megawatt, and refurbished units 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 added — a spread that captures the resale market's draw: roughly a third of the price, with equipment available now rather than half a decade out.

Tenorio cautioned that overhauled turbines can carry unclear maintenance histories, short remaining life and poor long-term servicing.

Crusoe in April ordered 13 aeroderivative turbines — gas turbines adapted from jet engine designs — totaling 650 megawatts from ProEnergy for its US artificial intelligence data center projects. Wärtsilä of Finland has won about 3 gigawatts of US 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 will 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 — nearly double within five years. That horizon overlaps the 2030-2031 delivery window for new turbines, making the 2028 factory buildout, air-permit decisions and grid connections the milestones that indicate how much of the equipment squeeze has eased.