Photo: Eolian screen shot
A giant 1 GWh battery is now under construction outside Columbus, Ohio, where data center and industrial development is rapidly pushing up electricity demand.
Eolian’s Flint Grid battery energy storage system will be able to deliver 200 megawatts of power for more than five hours in Jersey Township, Licking County. That’s enough capacity to store more than 1 gigawatt-hour of electricity and release it when demand – and strain on the grid – is highest.
The project is being built next to New Albany’s fast-growing data center and industrial corridor. Amazon Web Services already operates data center infrastructure there, while Google and Meta are constructing additional data center buildings nearby.
Eolian says Flint Grid will be the largest battery energy storage project in Ohio and across PJM, the regional grid operator serving 13 states and Washington, DC.
Flint Grid is also the first grid-scale battery storage project permitted by the Ohio Power Siting Board. The 200 MW facility will occupy around 15 acres along Jug Street Road.
Eolian says Flint Grid is the first large-scale battery project to qualify for PJM’s capacity market. It was also the largest battery to clear the grid operator’s 2027-28 capacity auction, accounting for more than half of the new battery capacity selected for that delivery year.
PJM’s capacity market pays power plants and other resources to be available when the grid needs them in the future. Batteries can respond almost instantly, charging when electricity is plentiful and discharging during periods of tight supply. Strategically placing them near heavy electricity demand can also help grid operators make better use of existing transmission lines while longer-term upgrades and new power supplies are built.
“There’s growing consternation about how the US can rapidly scale infrastructure to support America’s growing electricity demand, but not nearly enough conversation about how to use existing technology to unlock the wasted capacity that already exists on the grid,” said Eolian founder and CEO Aaron Zubaty.
“Flint Grid demonstrates how companies like Eolian have been investing in solutions to unlock the grid and reduce price pressures on consumers using proven and scalable technology.”
Eolian says the battery will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build, but it didn’t disclose a precise price, battery supplier, or chemistry. The company says it committed capital to Flint Grid years before surging electricity forecasts – driven heavily by data centers – became a national concern.
Flint Grid is expected to begin commercial operation before PJM’s 2027-28 capacity year.
Read more: Meta is backing 10 gas plants to power data centers – and just quit a global renewables pledge
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