The PJM grid’s largest battery is now under construction in Ohio

A large battery storage project is now being built outside Columbus, Ohio, in an area where new data centers and industrial facilities are pushing up electricity demand. The Flint Grid battery, developed by Eolian, will be able to deliver 200 megawatts of power for more than five hours, storing over 1 gigawatt-hour of electricity. That makes it the largest battery in Ohio and across the entire PJM grid, the regional operator that manages electricity for 13 states and Washington, DC. It's also the first grid-scale battery project approved by the Ohio Power Siting Board.

For homeowners, this isn't a project you sign up for or benefit from directly. Batteries like this work by storing electricity when it's cheap and plentiful, then releasing it during times when the grid is under strain, such as hot summer afternoons. That can help keep the broader grid stable and, according to Eolian, ease some of the price pressure that comes from rising demand, particularly from data centers. The company says it committed funding to the project years before electricity demand forecasts started climbing due to data center growth.

The battery is expected to start operating before PJM's 2027-28 capacity year, the period when the grid operator plans for future electricity supply. If you live in Ohio or elsewhere within PJM's territory, projects like this are part of the background infrastructure that affects grid reliability and, potentially, electricity costs over time, even though there's nothing here that requires action on your part.