Aligned Data Centers and Calibrant Energy are developing a 31 MW / 62 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Aligned’s PDX-01 campus in Hillsboro, Oregon. Announced on October 22, 2025, the project is designed to help the data center ramp its electrical load sooner by providing flexible capacity while conventional utility upgrades are still pending.
This is not simply a backup-power installation. Its defining purpose is to operate as a grid-responsive resource that can reduce or reshape the campus’s demand during constrained periods. Groundbreaking was publicly announced in 2026, but commercial operation and full-scale data-center energization had not been independently confirmed in the available sources as of August 18, 2026.
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The short version
The Hillsboro project combines a large data-center load with on-site battery storage and utility coordination. Aligned is the data-center developer and host. Calibrant Energy is delivering the energy-storage solution under its “Path to Power” model. Later project announcements identify Portland General Electric (PGE) as the utility, ARCO/Murray as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner, and Tesla Megapacks as the battery equipment.
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Aligned and Calibrant announced the project in October 2025, with operation planned for 2026.
Why data centers need a different power strategy
AI, cloud and high-performance-computing facilities require large amounts of dependable electricity. Securing land and building the data-center shell does not guarantee that the local grid can deliver the required power on the desired schedule.
Interconnection can be delayed by transformer availability, substation capacity, transmission constraints, distribution upgrades, generation limits and utility studies. A new substation or transmission project may take substantially longer than the construction of the data-center building.
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How the battery can accelerate interconnection
An illustrative operating arrangement would work like this:
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- The data center requests a large increase in electrical service.
- The utility identifies periods or conditions in which the local system cannot safely accommodate the full load.
- The BESS charges during more favorable periods.
- During constrained periods, the battery discharges or the data center limits its grid imports.
- The utility may then approve earlier or staged energization, subject to the actual interconnection agreement and operating limits.
This example explains the mechanism; it is not the undisclosed dispatch protocol for PDX-01. Calibrant’s project case study describes the system as a flexibility resource co-designed with the data-center operator and utility.
What the 31 MW / 62 MWh rating means
| Rating | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|
| 31 MW | Approximate maximum instantaneous discharge power. |
| 62 MWh | Amount of stored energy before accounting for reserves, losses and operating limits. |
Dividing energy capacity by power rating gives a theoretical duration of approximately two hours:
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62 MWh ÷ 31 MW = 2 hours
That calculation is an engineering inference, not a promised two-hour backup guarantee. Actual usable duration will depend on state-of-charge limits, conversion losses, auxiliary loads, reserve requirements, degradation and whether the battery serves the entire campus or a defined electrical block.
Backup power, peak shaving and grid services
The BESS may support several functions, but they should not be conflated:
- Backup power: supplies electricity after a grid outage, subject to available charge and system configuration.
- Peak shaving: reduces grid imports during high-demand periods.
- Load shifting: charges at one time and discharges later.
- Grid services: may support reliability, voltage or frequency needs where technically and contractually permitted.
- Interconnection support: operates alongside flexible data-center load to make earlier or staged service possible.
Public announcements emphasize peak-demand discharge, grid responsiveness and accelerated interconnection. They do not disclose a complete dispatch algorithm, minimum reserve level, outage duration or guaranteed backup runtime.
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Project facts and responsibilities
| Item | Available information |
|---|---|
| Host | Aligned Data Centers’ PDX-01 campus |
| Location | Hillsboro, Oregon |
| Announcement | October 22, 2025 |
| Battery rating | 31 MW / 62 MWh |
| Utility | Portland General Electric, according to later partner announcements |
| EPC | ARCO/Murray |
| Battery hardware | Tesla Megapacks, according to later project material |
| Developer/operator | Calibrant Energy, according to later trade coverage |
| Funding | Energy Storage News reported that Aligned funds the project while Calibrant builds and operates it |
| Status | Groundbreaking confirmed in 2026; operation planned for 2026, but commercial operation was not independently confirmed as of August 18, 2026 |
The project’s financial terms, contract price, ownership agreement, utility compensation, revenue-sharing arrangements and detailed dispatch obligations have not been publicly disclosed in the reviewed sources.
What “first-of-its-kind” does—and does not—mean
Aligned and Calibrant characterize the project as the first U.S. battery system purpose-built to accelerate interconnection and bring a large-scale data center online. That claim should be attributed to the companies.
It does not establish that the project is the first U.S. data-center BESS, the first battery at a data center, or the first battery capable of providing grid services. The distinction matters because batteries have already been used for backup power, peak management and other grid applications.
Does the battery replace utility upgrades?
No. The BESS is better understood as a bridge or flexibility resource that may enable earlier energization or staged load growth. It does not automatically eliminate the need for permanent substations, transformers, transmission improvements or other network work.
The eventual operating agreement would need to answer questions such as:
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- What maximum data-center load is allowed before and after the battery is available?
- When must the battery discharge?
- How frequently may it cycle?
- Does Aligned face curtailment or load-ramp limits?
- Who pays for battery augmentation as capacity degrades?
- What happens during a prolonged outage or multi-day grid emergency?
Those contract-level details have not been disclosed publicly.
Why use a BESS instead of only generation?
Compared with combustion generation, battery storage can respond quickly, discharge without on-site combustion during ordinary operation, charge during lower-demand periods and potentially provide grid-support value. It can also complement renewable electricity.
Its limitations are equally important. A battery has finite duration, must be recharged, degrades over time and requires substantial capital, controls and safety infrastructure. A two-hour-class system cannot provide indefinite backup during a prolonged outage without another energy source.
The companies frame the project as an alternative to waiting for upgrades, going entirely off-grid or relying solely on fossil-fuel generation. That is the project sponsors’ framing, not proof that storage is a universal substitute for grid expansion.
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Safety, permitting and community questions
Large lithium-ion BESS installations require fire detection, thermal-event mitigation, electrical isolation, monitoring, emergency-response planning and careful siting. Aligned and Calibrant say the project includes a safer battery chemistry, built-in fire-mitigation measures, remote 24/7 monitoring and performance beyond international safety standards.
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The public material reviewed does not identify the exact chemistry, applicable standards, fire-suppression design, emergency-response plan, separation distances or local permit conditions. Safety claims should therefore be treated as company statements, not as evidence that the facility is risk-free.
Local opposition material from Washington County listed a proposed Hillsboro BESS project and a Type III public hearing scheduled for October 30, 2025. That source is advocacy-oriented. It demonstrates community concern, but it is not a neutral technical assessment.
Can the model be replicated?
Calibrant presents its “Path to Power” approach as scalable, and the companies say they are considering similar projects in other markets. Replication is most plausible where:
- The data center is near grid infrastructure but constrained by timing or capacity.
- The utility accepts flexible load or dispatchable customer-side resources.
- The operator can comply with curtailment, dispatch or ramping limits.
- Land-use approvals and fire codes permit a large BESS.
- The economics favor storage over waiting, new generation or alternative capacity.
- The battery controls can integrate with utility and data-center protection systems.
Local interconnection rules, utility tariffs, market structure, permitting, fire codes, battery supply and power-quality requirements vary widely. A commercial claim that the model is scalable is not proof that every utility can adopt the same arrangement.
How to evaluate a similar project
- Interconnection value: Does the battery materially reduce the facility’s constrained-grid impact?
- Utility acceptance: Is there a binding operating agreement?
- Power quality: Can the system meet voltage, frequency, ride-through and transfer requirements?
- Duration: Is the storage duration sufficient for the expected constraint?
- Ramp profile: Can it support the data center’s planned growth?
- Cycle life: Who pays for augmentation and replacement?
- Safety and siting: Are fire protection, emergency response, setbacks and approvals adequate?
- Economics: Is storage more practical than waiting or building generation?
- Ownership: Who controls dispatch and receives grid-service value?
- Resilience: What happens during a long outage or simultaneous battery and grid failure?
Current status
As of August 18, 2026: Public partner announcements confirm groundbreaking. Available sources continue to describe operation during 2026 as planned, but do not independently confirm commercial operation or full data-center energization at the intended scale.
For construction and infrastructure stakeholders, the important development is the project structure: a data-center operator, an energy-services provider, a utility, an EPC contractor and a battery supplier coordinating around flexible load. Whether that structure delivers earlier power will depend on the final interconnection terms, commissioning, dispatch performance and completion of the broader utility work.
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