Brian Martucci, UTILITY DIVE
Published 10 days after a fire at Vistra’s 300-MW battery installation near Santa Cruz, the California Public Utilities Commission’s proposal would set new standards for energy storage facilities.
The Jan. 16 fire was the most destructive of three safety incidents to occur at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility since 2020. A fourth incident occurred in September 2022 at an adjacent 182.5-MW battery installation owned and operated by Pacific Gas & Electric.
No injuries or deaths were reported in the Jan. 16 incident. Federal air quality monitoring concluded Jan. 20 after finding no risk to public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
But local elected officials nonetheless raised alarms about the facility and the broader safety profile of battery energy storage facilities, with Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church calling the fire a “worst-case scenario” and California Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D, vowing to “[explore] all options for preventing future battery energy storage fires from ever occurring again on the Central Coast.”
Read more at https://www.utilitydive.com/news/california-puc-energy-storage-safety-emergency/738626/