Ohio Breaks Ground on PJM's Largest Battery Storage Project

Just outside Columbus, Ohio, construction has officially begun on Flint Grid — a massive battery energy storage system (BESS) with a 200 MW power rating and over 1 GWh of storage capacity. Led by energy developer Eolian, the project is sited in Jericho Township, Licking County, designed to address escalating grid demand driven by rapid expansion of data centers and industrial facilities.

According to Eolian, the Flint Grid BESS can deliver 200 MW of power continuously for more than five hours during peak grid periods — effectively serving as a flexible, fast-responding "power buffer" for the regional grid. Its scale will make it not only Ohio's largest battery storage project to date but also the largest single-energy-storage facility currently under construction across the PJM Interconnection — a grid serving 13 states and Washington, D.C.

The project sits adjacent to the rapidly growing New Albany data center and industrial corridor. Amazon Web Services already operates data center infrastructure in the area, while Google and Meta are building new data center campuses nearby. This "co-location of storage near load centers" helps alleviate transmission bottlenecks, improves utilization of existing grid assets, and buys time for longer-term generation and grid infrastructure upgrades.

Flint Grid is also the first large-scale, grid-connected battery storage project approved by the Ohio Power Siting Board. Spanning approximately 15 acres along Jug Street Road, the project marks Victory's inaugural entry into the PJM capacity market — and secured the largest single award in PJM's 2027–2028 capacity auction, accounting for more than half of all newly awarded battery capacity in that cycle.

PJM's capacity market requires resources to commit reliable availability during specified future periods in exchange for capacity payments. Batteries, with their millisecond-level response, can charge during periods of surplus generation and discharge during supply-demand tightness — making them critical flexibility assets for grid resilience. Aaron Zubaty, Founder and CEO of Eolian, noted: "While public discourse focuses heavily on how quickly we can build new infrastructure, far less attention is paid to unlocking idle capacity already embedded in the grid using proven technologies. Flint Grid embodies exactly that approach."

Although Eolian stated the project represents an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, it declined to disclose the exact figure, battery supplier, or electrochemical chemistry. The company emphasized that capital was committed to Flint Grid years before data-center-driven electricity demand surges became a national concern. Commercial operation is scheduled to begin ahead of the PJM 2027–2028 capacity year.