Eolian's 200-MW Battery Project Signals Storage Race Near Ohio Data Centers
Solar Power World reports that Eolian is constructing a 200-MW energy storage project, called Flint Grid, adjacent to a data center and industrial load site in New Albany, Ohio, just outside Columbus. The project is the first grid-scale battery permitted by the Ohio Power Siting Board and will use BYD MC Cube-T battery energy storage systems configured for five hours of discharge, delivering roughly 1 GWh of capacity. Eolian first filed for the project in 2021, well ahead of current data center demand forecasts. Founder and CEO Aaron Zubaty said the project required hundreds of millions of dollars in capital and is designed to “unlock the wasted capacity that already exists on the grid” rather than wait solely on new transmission buildout. Flint Grid is expected to reach commercial operation ahead of the 2027-2028 PJM capacity year.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Electrical and E&I contractors in central Ohio should watch for subcontract packages tied to Flint Grid’s battery installation and interconnection work as it moves toward commercial operation before the 2027-2028 PJM capacity year.
- Civil subs handling site prep, foundations, and access roads near New Albany’s data center corridor have a concrete near-term project to bid into, since Flint Grid is already permitted by the Ohio Power Siting Board.
- The five-year gap between Eolian’s 2021 filing and 2026 construction start shows storage projects tied to data center load can carry long lead times, useful for subs planning crew allocation and equipment scheduling around similar PJM-region battery projects.
