New Albany gets small electric grid to power new data center
Veolia announced it will operate a new 350-megawatt microgrid in New Albany, Ohio, to power an AI data center campus independently. This aims to prevent increased energy costs for Ohio consumers and avoids long connection wait times for the data center. Ohio's public utilities commission has authorized Veolia to operate.
Veolia, an international utilities company, has announced its selection to operate a 350-megawatt electric grid in New Albany, Ohio. This dedicated microgrid will power an entire AI data center campus, preventing the project from relying on Ohio's existing energy resources, which can increase costs for state consumers.
The project aims to mitigate the supply and demand imbalance created by the nearly 200 data centers in Ohio, which strain the state's limited energy generation capacity, according to energy companies like PJM and AEP Ohio. Veolia's grid will utilize on-site generation and large battery storage, operating independently of the main Ohio electric grid. This approach also helps the data center avoid the seven-to-ten-year wait times typically associated with connecting large-scale facilities to Ohio's grid.
Karin Hamel, Veolia Energy CEO for North America, emphasized the need for trusted partners in deploying advanced energy systems for AI infrastructure. The facility is expected to create 35 to 40 full-time jobs. While Ohio's Public Utilities Commission authorized Veolia in late June, the specific developer or customer for the data center was not disclosed in state environmental or city council records.