Eolian is constructing a 200-MW battery energy storage system outside Columbus, Ohio, adjacent to data center and industrial loads in New Albany. Known as the Flint Grid project, the installation marks the first grid-scale battery facility permitted by the Ohio Power Siting Board.

According to a press release from Eolian, Flint Grid is designed as a five-hour system capable of delivering approximately 1 GWh of stored energy. The five-hour duration is longer than many grid-scale BESS installations, which typically range from two to four hours, positioning the project to serve extended evening peak periods. When Eolian first submitted its documentation to the Ohio Power Siting Board in 2021, the company outlined plans to deploy BYD lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery systems. LFP chemistry has become the dominant choice for utility-scale storage in the United States, favored for its thermal stability and cost profile. The project will utilize the BYD MC Cube-T BESS (datasheet).

Flint Grid is strategically positioned near the New Albany data center corridor, where electricity demand from large-scale computing and industrial operations continues to grow. The region has also attracted major manufacturing investment, including Intel's announced chip fabrication campus in neighboring Licking County. The PJM Interconnection regional grid operator, which serves Ohio and surrounding states, has seen rising capacity needs driven in part by data center expansion and has worked through a significant interconnection queue backlog in recent years.

"There's growing consternation about how the U.S. 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 Aaron Zubaty, founder and CEO of Eolian. "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. This project requires hundreds of millions of dollars to construct, and we committed the necessary capital and resources years before today's demand forecasts became headline news. As policymakers consider changes to competitive electricity markets, it's critical that they avoid undermining the long-term investments already underway that will make better use of existing transmission infrastructure and that create a bridge to further long-term supply expansion."

Flint Grid is expected to enter commercial operation ahead of the 2027–2028 PJM capacity year. More information about the project is available on the Flint Grid project website.