The Moss Landing Vistra Power Plant near San Francisco, the largest battery facility in the world, suffered a significant fire on 16 January
Starting in a building storing thousands of lithium-ion batteries, the fire destroyed 300 megawatts of energy storage, 2% of California’s capacity. Texas-based company Vistra Energy, who owned the building at Moss Landing, reported that it was fitted with a water-based suppressions system but it was unclear why this failed to control the blaze.
North County Fire Protection District Fire Chief, Joel Mendoza, reported that “due to the intensity of fire, and smoke and superheated gasses, roughly about an hour and a half into the incident, conditions change drastically.”
Whilst Monterey County Emergency Operations Center reported no injuries, the smoke plumes issuing from the fire were believed likely to contain heavy metals and other toxic compounds, with 1,200 local residents forced to leave the area as firefighters worked to bring the incident under control.
Although the blaze appeared to be out on the 16 January, the nature of the thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries saw the blaze flare up again the following afternoon, requiring the evacuation order to be extended and a state of emergency being declared in Monterey County.
Even once the fire was deemed to be under control, on Friday evening, Monterey County Health Officials advised residents to stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed, limit outdoor exposure, and turn off ventilation systems, citing an “abundance of caution”.
Despite California already have a state law requiring local governments to develop emergency response plans with battery developers, a member of Monterey County’s board of supervisors, Glenn Church, explained that this was the fourth fire at the site and called the incident a “Three Mile Island event” for the battery industry (in reference to the 1979 nuclear power plant accident).
“This is really a lot more than a fire, it’s a wake-up call for this industry,” he continued. “If we’re going to be moving forward with sustainable energy, we need a safe battery system in place”, before calling for an independent investigation into the incident, as well as increased safety protocols for the industry.
In response to the fire, senior director of community affairs for Vistra Energy, Brad Watson, said that the company took the incident very seriously and would work with local residents and the US Environmental Protection Agency to report on any possible health impacts.
“We are hurting today because we know primarily it's impacted and disrupted the people who live around our site, our neighbours, our friends, and businesses, and for that, we are sincerely sorry", he said.
As reported by NBC, scientists from San Jose State University's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, took soil samples from the nearby Elkhorn Slough Reserve, an internationally important wetland. On analysing the samples, it was discovered that there had been an increase in the concentrations of heavy metals present – namely nickel, manganese, and cobalt. These metals are all components of cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries and can cause serious damage to local ecosystems.
With the recent wildfires devastating large areas around Los Angeles, there are also questions over how long the reconstruction of the site and building back up battery capacity could take.
The cause of the fire is still currently under investigation.