Biggest battery east of the Mississippi will help power AI complex

A developer called Eolian has broken ground on a massive battery just outside Columbus, Ohio, right in the middle of a fast-growing cluster of AI data centers. The first phase, due online by June 2027, will store 1 gigawatt-hour of power and can deliver 200 megawatts for up to five hours straight. That makes it the largest battery in the 13-state PJM grid region, and the biggest anywhere east of the Mississippi. A second phase of equal size is planned for 2029.

The battery works like others already common in California and Texas: it charges up when electricity is cheap and plentiful, then feeds that stored power back onto the grid when demand peaks. In a region where data centers and a new Intel chip factory are pushing electricity demand sharply higher, and where power prices have been rising as a result, a battery like this can help ease strain on the grid and hold down costs for everyone drawing power from it, not just the tech companies nearby.

This project doesn't require homeowners to do anything, but it matters because rising electricity demand from data centers has been driving up power prices in the PJM region, which covers Ohio and a dozen other states from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic. Large batteries like this one are one tool grid operators and regulators are counting on to slow those price increases. If you live in PJM territory, this is part of the broader effort to keep your electric bill from climbing as AI computing expands nearby.