Top 10 BESS Backed Data Center Projects in the US in 2025

The Strategic Pivot: How BESS is Redefining Data Center Power in 2025

Executive Summary

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are no longer a peripheral backup power source for data centers; they have become a central, strategic component for accelerating deployment, managing energy costs, and ensuring grid resilience. The unprecedented power demand from Artificial Intelligence (AI) is forcing a market shift where data center operators are using BESS to bypass multi-year grid interconnection queues and transform their facilities into active, flexible grid assets. Key projects in 2025 illustrate this pivot, including SB Energy’s $1 billion “Stargate” AI campus, which integrates a 1.2 GW data center with co-located renewables and storage, and Aligned Data Centers’ use of a 31 MW BESS to bring a new facility online years ahead of schedule. The dominant theme for 2025 is the strategic repositioning of BESS from a simple uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to a multi-faceted grid-edge tool that enables speed-to-market and new revenue streams.

Top BESS-Backed Data Center Installations of 2025

The following projects and initiatives highlight the aggressive integration of BESS into the U.S. data center landscape, driven by hyperscale AI demands, grid constraints, and new business models.

1. Stargate AI Data Center Campus

Company: SB Energy, Open AI, Soft Bank
Installation Capacity: Integrated with a 1.2 GW data center
Application: Powering a massive, vertically integrated AI data center campus with co-located solar and storage to ensure energy security and speed to market.
Source: SB Energy secures $1 billion from Open AI and Soft Bank for …

2. Texas Data Center Power Portfolio

Company: Greenflash
Installation Capacity: 10 GWh+
Application: A large-scale merchant BESS portfolio developed specifically to sell power and ancillary services to the burgeoning data center industry in the ERCOT market.
Source: Texas developer secures 10 GWh+ of BESS capacity to …

3. Fort Worth Data Center Campus

Company: Cyrus One, Eolian
Installation Capacity: Supporting a 200 MW data center
Application: A strategic “Energy-as-a-Service” partnership enabling the rapid deployment of a large colocation campus by overcoming local grid constraints.
Source: Cyrus One and Eolian Partner to Enable Rapid Deployment …

4. Prospect Power Storage

Company: Swift Current Energy
Installation Capacity: 150 MW
Application: A utility-scale BESS project strategically located in Virginia’s data-center-dense PJM region to provide critical grid stability and capacity.
Source: DATA CENTERS

5. Pacific Northwest Data Center

Company: Aligned Data Centers, Calibrant Energy
Installation Capacity: 31 MW / 62 MWh
Application: A landmark BESS deployment designed to bypass lengthy utility upgrade timelines, accelerating the data center’s operational start date by several years.
Source: Calibrant to deliver BESS for Pacific Northwest data centre

6. New York Grid Support

Company: Core Site, Calibrant Energy
Installation Capacity: 13.5 MW / 55.7 MWh
Application: A front-of-the-meter BESS providing dispatchable capacity to the Con Edison grid in New York City, enabling the data center to participate in grid service programs.
Source: Core Site and Calibrant Energy energize three front-of-the- …

7. Gigawatt-Scale Clean Energy Partnership

Company: Google, Next Era Energy
Installation Capacity: Gigawatt-scale portfolio
Application: An expanded strategic alliance to develop and procure firm, 24/7 carbon-free energy, including BESS, to power Google’s growing AI data center footprint.
Source: Google and Next Era Team Up to Build Gigawatt-Scale AI …

8. Modular AI Data Center

Company: Crusoe, Redwood Materials
Installation Capacity: Not specified
Application: A pilot project demonstrating a circular economy approach, using BESS made from repurposed EV batteries to power modular AI computing infrastructure.
Source: Crusoe and Redwood Materials unveil world’s largest …

9. Distributed Solar + Storage Project

Company: Power Bank
Installation Capacity: 5 MW
Application: A distributed BESS project developed in direct response to regional load growth driven by data centers in New York, helping reinforce local grid infrastructure.
Source: Power Bank Announces New 5 MW Distributed Solar and …

10. Long-Duration Storage Pilot

Company: Prometheus Hyperscale, XL Batteries
Installation Capacity: 333 k W
Application: A pilot deployment of a novel organic flow battery to test long-duration energy storage as an alternative to lithium-ion for providing extended resilience.
Source: Data centers could bring alternative battery types into the …

Table: 2025 BESS-Backed Data Center Initiatives

From Backup Power to Strategic Asset: The Expanding Role of BESS

The diversity of applications demonstrates that BESS adoption is moving far beyond its traditional role as a simple replacement for diesel generators. The market is segmenting into distinct strategic use cases. At the highest level, hyperscalers like Google and AI leaders like Open AI are driving the creation of vertically integrated “AI Factories, ” as seen in the SB Energy “Stargate” project. Here, BESS is a core component of a self-contained energy ecosystem designed for gigawatt-scale power security. In the colocation space, the primary driver is business agility. The partnership between Cyrus One and Eolian and the landmark project by Aligned Data Centers show BESS being used as a financial tool to de-risk and accelerate deployment by years, effectively bypassing utility interconnection queues. This “Energy-as-a-Service” model allows data center operators to focus on their core business. A third model is emerging where BESS transforms data centers into grid-interactive assets. Core Site’s project in New York exemplifies this by using its storage to participate in grid services, creating a revenue stream. Finally, the development of merchant portfolios like Greenflash’s 10 GWh+ Texas project signals a new market where energy developers are building storage infrastructure specifically to serve the data center load.

US Energy Storage Installations Surge in 2023

The dramatic rise in energy storage installations in 2023 highlights its growing importance as a strategic grid asset, moving beyond simple backup power.

(Source: Energy-Storage.News)

Texas and Virginia: The Power Hubs of the BESS-Data Center Nexus

Geographic analysis reveals a strong concentration of activity in Texas and Virginia, the epicenters of U.S. data center growth, but for different strategic reasons. Texas is a hotbed due to its deregulated ERCOT market, which allows assets like Greenflash’s BESS portfolio to directly participate in energy arbitrage and ancillary service markets. This, combined with massive solar and wind penetration, makes it an ideal environment for BESS to provide firming capacity for data centers. Projects like SB Energy’s Stargate and the Cyrus One campus underscore the state’s role as a proving ground for large-scale, market-driven BESS integration. In contrast, Virginia, particularly within the PJM Interconnection, represents a grid-constraint-driven market. Swift Current Energy’s Prospect Power Storage project is strategically positioned in “Data Center Alley” to provide critical grid stability in a region where electricity demand from data centers is straining existing infrastructure. This highlights the role of BESS as a non-wires alternative to traditional transmission upgrades. Smaller but significant projects in New York by Core Site and Power Bank show a similar constraint-driven model in dense urban environments.

Virginia and Texas to Lead Power Demand Surge

Projected power demand from new data centers is set to skyrocket by 2035, with growth heavily concentrated in key power hubs like Virginia and Texas.

(Source: Rystad Energy)

Beyond Lithium-Ion: Pilots Signal a Quest for Long-Duration Storage

The installation data reveals a multi-tiered technology landscape. The vast majority of large-scale commercial deployments, from Aligned’s campus to Greenflash’s portfolio, rely on mature, bankable lithium-ion battery technology, which is cost-effective for 2-4 hour duration applications like peak shaving and grid services. However, two key pilot projects signal the industry’s forward-looking strategy. The Crusoe and Redwood Materials partnership represents a pioneering effort in the circular economy, using repurposed EV batteries to create a sustainable BESS supply chain. This addresses both ESG goals and potential future constraints on raw materials. More critically, the Prometheus Hyperscale pilot with XL Batteries’ organic flow battery marks a deliberate exploration into long-duration energy storage. This shows that industry leaders recognize the limitations of lithium-ion for providing multi-hour or multi-day resilience. The success of such pilots could unlock the next phase of data center power, moving beyond short-term backup to true grid independence and resilience against extended outages, which is crucial for mission-critical AI workloads.

Lithium-Ion Dominates Americas BESS Market Growth

The Americas’ BESS market is forecast to reach $138.5 billion by 2033, with lithium-ion technology currently serving as the dominant choice for most commercial deployments.

(Source: Grand View Research)

The Future is Integrated: AI Factories Fueled by On-Site Power

The projects of 2025 signal a clear future direction: the convergence of energy infrastructure and digital infrastructure. The dominant trend is the rise of the integrated “AI factory, ” where hyperscalers and AI firms directly fund and co-develop gigawatt-scale data centers with their own dedicated power generation and storage, as exemplified by the Open AI/SB Energy partnership. This vertical integration model de-risks power supply and ensures speed to market. For the rest of the market, the “Energy-as-a-Service” model offered by firms like Eolian and Calibrant Energy will be critical, allowing colocation providers to remain competitive without becoming energy experts. The market is irrevocably shifting from viewing data centers as passive energy consumers to active, flexible grid participants. The exploration of long-duration storage and circular economy models indicates that the industry is not just solving today’s power crunch but is actively building a more resilient, sustainable, and independent power paradigm for the AI era.

Data Center Power Demand to Triple by 2030

Global electricity demand from data centers is forecast to nearly triple by 2030, with the US expected to lead global battery capacity additions to support this growth.

(Source: Benchmark Source – Benchmark Minerals)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are data centers suddenly adopting BESS so aggressively in 2025?

The primary drivers are the massive power demands of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the need to get new facilities online faster. BESS allows data center operators to bypass multi-year grid interconnection queues, manage energy costs, and ensure a stable power supply for power-hungry AI workloads, effectively accelerating their speed-to-market.

How are data centers using BESS beyond simple backup power?

BESS has evolved from a backup power source to a strategic financial and operational tool. Key applications in 2025 include: 1) Accelerating deployment by serving as a bridge power source while awaiting utility upgrades (e.g., Aligned Data Centers). 2) Participating in grid services to generate revenue (e.g., CoreSite in New York). 3) Creating vertically integrated ‘AI Factories’ with dedicated power and storage for energy security (e.g., SB Energy’s ‘Stargate’ campus).

Why are Texas and Virginia mentioned as key locations for this trend?

They represent two different strategic drivers. Texas, with its deregulated ERCOT market, is a market-driven environment where BESS can be used for energy arbitrage and to sell ancillary services to the grid, as seen with Greenflash’s portfolio. Virginia, home to ‘Data Center Alley,’ is a constraint-driven market where BESS is deployed as a ‘non-wires alternative’ to provide critical stability to a grid strained by massive data center demand.

Are all these data centers using the same type of battery technology?

No. While the majority of large-scale commercial projects use mature lithium-ion technology for 2-4 hour applications, the industry is actively exploring alternatives. The report highlights a pilot by Crusoe using repurposed EV batteries for a circular economy approach, and a project by Prometheus Hyperscale testing a novel organic flow battery specifically for long-duration storage to provide resilience against extended outages.

What is ‘Energy-as-a-Service’ in the context of data centers?

Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) is a business model where a third-party energy specialist, like Eolian or Calibrant Energy, develops, owns, and operates the BESS infrastructure for a data center. As seen in the CyrusOne and Aligned Data Centers projects, this allows the data center operator to gain the benefits of BESS—like rapid deployment and cost management—without needing to become an energy expert themselves, letting them focus on their core business.

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