WSJ Tech News Briefing – “The Data Center Next Door”

Date: February 20, 2026
Host: Patrick Coffey
Guests: Jin Joo Lee (WSJ, Heard on the Street columnist), Will Parker (WSJ reporter)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the explosive growth of AI-driven data centers across the United States, examining both the technical demands of powering these massive facilities—and the surprising use of jet engines for energy—as well as the social and economic ramifications on local communities. The discussion provides an inside look at infrastructure innovation, market tensions in aviation and energy, and the dilemma facing homeowners and developers as tech companies snap up land at unprecedented rates.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. AI Data Centers: The New Infrastructure Arms Race

(00:20–05:59)

• The AI revolution has intensified the scramble not just for software, but for the physical infrastructure needed to run AI workloads—chiefly data centers, which require enormous and reliable energy supplies.
• Tech companies and their partners are racing to set up these centers. Demand is so high that creative technical solutions are emerging.

Jet Engines as Power Sources

• Aeroderivative Turbines:
  • Jet engines, for which there is high demand and a backlog, are being adapted as aeroderivative turbines—natural gas-powered turbines modeled after jet engines (01:45).
  • These turbines are prized because they are space-efficient (originally designed for jets), relatively clean-burning, and can offer constant “baseload” power unlike intermittent renewables like solar/wind.
  • Quote:

    "We're seeing that jet engines can be converted into natural gas-fired power turbines... because the demand is that high."
    — Jin Joo Lee (01:45)

• Conversion Process:
  • Companies like FTAI Aviation can convert jet engines in 30–45 days; the process mainly requires changing the fuel nozzle (from jet fuel to natural gas) and swapping the front fan to a smaller one (03:53).
• Market Ripple Effects:
  • Pandemic disruptions caused jet engine supply shortages, as aviation bounced back faster than manufacturing could keep up.
  • Increased demand for data center turbines may compete with aviation needs, deepening shortages.
  • The booming secondary market is not limited to jets: other industrial manufacturers are also pivoting to serve the data center sector.
  • Quote:

    "If even more jet engine parts go into making power turbines... that could worsen the supply shortage in the jet engine market."
    — Jin Joo Lee (05:07)

2. The Data Center Land Grab and Its Impact on Communities

(06:48–12:03)

• Tech giants (Google, Microsoft, etc.) are acquiring land at scale against traditional housing developers to construct data centers.
• While these projects promise local jobs and national tech competitiveness, they’re also seen as exacerbating housing shortages and altering community landscapes—sometimes contentiously.

Hotspot Geographies

• Northern Virginia (especially the Northeast), Georgia (south of Atlanta), Texas (Dallas), and Illinois are experiencing the most intense data center construction activity.
• In these places, data centers have become the dominant form of development, overtaking residential projects (07:28).

Housing Market Effects

• Direct links to rising housing prices are complex, but there is a clear trend: land previously suited for homes is increasingly being used for data centers, shrinking the pipeline of new residential development.
• A national survey showed about one-third of land brokers saw residential land switched to data center use over the last year; in Northern Virginia and nearby areas, the trend is stronger (07:58–09:02).
• Quote:

  "We do know that more and more land is turning over from residential to data center use."
  — Will Parker (08:19)

• Some extreme cases involve developers buying whole subdivisions at premium prices—sometimes millions per home—but such buyouts remain rare, though likely to become more common as tech demand persists (09:02–10:04).

Resident Sentiment and Community Pushback

• Reactions among homeowners range from indifference (when data centers are remote) to concern and activism (when they encroach on residential areas).
• Unlike retail or commercial development, data centers offer little community utility; residents can’t “shop there,” and the presence brings noise, visual changes, and sometimes strain on local resources.
• Organized protests, lawsuits, and political mobilization are growing in regions faced with large-scale data center building.
• Quote:

  "You can't... interact with a data center. You don't get any use for it. You don't go shopping there on Saturday."
  — Will Parker (11:03)

• In Virginia, some elected officials have won office partly on anti–data center platforms (11:25).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the supply challenge and market shift:

  “We’re seeing all kinds of manufacturing capacity sort of repurpose and become creative in the face of this skyrocketing demand from data centers.”
  — Jin Joo Lee (05:31)

• On resident attitudes:

  “…Very organized groups of activists in many of these places... showing up to planning commission meetings and local government meetings... sometimes filing lawsuits to try to block rezoning.”
  — Will Parker (11:25)

• On the uniqueness of the trend:

  “It’s very different than like suburban sprawl... You can’t... interact with a data center. You don’t get any use for it.”
  — Will Parker (11:03)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment Description | Speaker(s) | Timestamp (MM:SS) | |--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|-----------------------| | Jet engines as power turbines for data centers | Jin Joo Lee | 01:45–05:59 | | Explanation of turbine conversion process | Jin Joo Lee | 03:53–04:28 | | Supply shortage in jet engine market | Jin Joo Lee | 04:28–05:21 | | Data center land buying hot spots | Will Parker | 07:28–07:54 | | Impact on housing supply and anecdotal buyouts | Will Parker | 07:58–10:04 | | Resident reactions and political fallout | Will Parker | 10:36–11:25 |

Conclusion

This episode of WSJ Tech News Briefing expertly highlights the lesser-seen consequences of the AI revolution: a surge in creative energy solutions (jet engine–derived turbines) and an escalating “land grab” that pits big tech against local communities and residential developers. As data centers continue to reshape the economic and physical landscape, local and national debates over energy, housing, and quality of life are only likely to intensify.