One Energy unveils energy hub

Findlay-based wind turbine builder One Energy Enterprises is expanding to provide emerging industries with high-volume power connections for operations like electric truck charging, digital currency mining and indoor farming. The company unveiled its first Megawatt Hub, which is located north of Findlay. While a typical factory might use between five and ten megawatts of power, the Findlay Megawatt Hub is a 30-megawatt site that is expandable to 150 MW, said Chief Executive Officer Jereme Kent. Powered by the first fully digital, transmission-voltage substation in the United States, the Megawatt Hub is a breakthrough for emerging industries stifled by lack of access to high volumes of power, he said. The hub and substation are located on One Energy's campus north of Findlay. "I don't know of anybody else who is building power sites of this scale on spec," Kent said. "In the emerging industries that are starved for power, this is a breakthrough to bring their product to market without being constrained to power." Planning is underway for future Megawatt Hub sites, Kent said. "The range of applications for our Megawatt Hubs is remarkable. Some energy-intensive industries that will need access to power at this scale include electric fleet charging, cathode and anode manufacturing, hydrogen production, digital currency mining, mobile data centers, and indoor farming," he said. "Getting this scale of power at transmission voltages is complicated, and the lack of access to this power has been stifling these industries. We hope to enable acceleration of these emerging industries by taking power problems off the table." The Findlay Megawatt Hub will initially host a digital currency mining tenant, who is operating mining computers in enclosed mobile computing units. The Megawatt Hub will also feature a charging pad for electric semi-trucks and large electric vehicles. At its initial sizing, the Findlay Megawatt Hub could serve the largest fleets, charging up to 90 electric semi-trucks at the same time, enabling the electrification of more than 500 electric semis in the region with around-the-clock charging.