MOSS LANDING — Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church and state Assembly member Dawn Addis are calling for the Vistra Moss Landing battery energy storage facility in Moss Landing to stay offline until officials can explain what caused the hearth that began Thursday has broken out, and may assure the general public that this plant is secure.
Church previously called for a “full independent investigation at all levels into exactly what happened.”
A Vistra representative responded later Friday afternoon, saying that determining when the plant comes back online will likely be a “collaborative process” and that the corporate will follow regulations and inform the general public.
The fire appeared to flare up again Friday afternoon, but Addis and Church said they were informed the hearth would flare up if more batteries flared up contained in the constructing where the hearth ignited.
The fire prompted an evacuation affecting about 1,200 people and the closure of Highway 1 in each directions in addition to other roads. The evacuation orders were lifted late Friday.
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“There has to be some accountability,” Church said within the Friday morning news conference, noting that this was the fourth fire on the Moss Landing battery facilities in five years.
The fire at one among the world's largest battery energy storage systems occurred in a constructing containing 300 lithium-ion batteries, an unknown variety of which burned and proceed to burn. Hazardous substances present in lithium-ion battery smoke include hydrogen fluoride, a colorless gas that may cause serious physical harm.
North County Fire District Chief Joel Mendoza said a hearth suppression system on a battery rack did not contain the hearth. The fire was at its most intense Thursday evening, he said, and was mostly out Friday morning. However, the cloud remained a priority and was being monitored by each the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and CTEH, an external Vistra consultant.
Mendoza reported that preliminary information from monitoring the plume showed that no dangerous hydrogen fluoride was detected.
Flames could possibly be seen coming from the power again on Friday afternoon, and the cloud of flames had grown exponentially.
On Friday morning, Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said evacuation orders were still in effect and were awaiting the report from the advanced air surveillance system to “play it safe so no one gets hurt” before the county and sheriff's office Department revoked evacuation orders
Pete Ziegler, regional vice chairman who oversees the Moss Landing power plant and energy storage facility, said monitoring began immediately after the hearth broke out.
He acknowledged the system error, but added: “We do not yet know what triggered this event.”
Church called the hearth a “worst-case scenario disaster here,” adding that it was a “wake-up call for this industry.”
The fire on the Vistra power plant began around 3pm on Thursday and no injuries or fatalities were reported.
Vistra and Pacific Gas and Electric/Tesla operate battery storage facilities on the Moss Landing power plant.
The Moss Landing power plant site has been producing energy in various ways since 1950. It has the infrastructure and demarcated land that make it a chief location for battery storage systems. The energy storage systems exist there after going through the general public process and were approved by commissions and committees before construction and operation.
Vistra experienced incidents in its battery storage system on September 4, 2021 and February 13, 2022. An incident occurred at Pacific Gas and Electric/Tesla, also referred to as Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage System, on September 20, 2022.
Both Vistra incidents on the Moss Landing facility in 2021 and 2022 were brought on by water leaks from the mitigation system. This led to ground faults, arcing and native smoke. Both events were localized to the location and had no impact on air, water, soil or surrounding communities.
The laws, enacted in response to the 2022 fire outbreak on the Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage System facility in Moss Landing, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2023.
Senate Bill 38, authored by State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, and co-authored by Assemblymember Dawn Adddis, D-Morro Bay, requires battery storage facilities to ascertain security and communications protocols.
“If renewable energy is to be the future, it really needs to be based on safe energy,” Church said.
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