French energy and water utility Veolia has been selected to operate and maintain a 350MW microgrid to power an undisclosed AI data center campus in Ohio.

The energy project is expected to provide 100 percent of the data center’s power. The microgrid will be anchored by gas engines and linear generators. The power capacity will be supplemented with a large-scale battery energy storage system to ensure that the facility can be powered fully behind the meter without any reliance on the grid. The BESS will have a capacity of 430MWh.

“Our work on this project shows how Veolia can help developers accelerate speed-to-power while maintaining the reliability required for mission-critical AI operations, all while protecting the community,” said Karin Hamel, CEO of Veolia Energy, North America and chief growth officer for Veolia in North America. “As developers deploy microgrids and other advanced energy systems to meet the growing demand for AI infrastructure, they need trusted partners with the expertise to operate these assets safely, reliably and at scale.

Veolia will oversee operations integration, commissioning support and long-term plant operations under a performance-based model, which the company claims is designed to maximize uptime, asset performance and operational accountability.

According to Veolia, it was brought onto the project before commercial operations to support startup readiness, operating procedure development and coordination among multiple contractors and original equipment manufacturers operating under compressed construction timelines.

Veolia said that the contract builds on Veolia’s Data Center Resource 360 offer launched earlier this year. The platform is designed to support the development of data centers into carbon-neutral, water-positive, circular hubs, boasting up to 20 percent more energy reuse, a 75 percent smaller water footprint, and 95 percent waste recycling and reuse.