Eolian begins construction of 1.06GWh Flint Grid BESS in Ohio
Eolian has started construction of the Flint Grid Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), a 200MW/1.06GWh project in central Ohio that the company says will be the largest battery energy storage project in the PJM market currently under construction.
Located near New Albany, east of Columbus, the five-hour battery storage facility is being developed close to a rapidly growing cluster of data centres and industrial loads. According to Eolian, the project is designed to improve grid flexibility by storing electricity during periods of lower demand and supplying it when demand increases, helping relieve transmission constraints in one of the region's fastest-growing load centres.
The company said the Flint Grid BESS is the first large-scale battery energy storage project to qualify for the PJM capacity market and was the largest battery storage resource to clear the 2027/28 PJM Residual Capacity Auction. It is also the first grid-scale battery storage project permitted by the Ohio Power Siting Board.
Aaron Zubaty, founder and chief executive officer of Eolian, stated: "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." He added that the Flint Grid project demonstrates how battery storage can help expand grid capacity using existing infrastructure.
The project is expected to support increasing electricity demand from data centres and industrial development while providing additional flexibility to the regional transmission network.
Source: power-technology.com
