The calm waters of Moss Landing Harbor are lit up Jan. 16 by a massive fire that greatly destroyed a battery energy storage plant owned by Vistra Energy.
As its Battery Energy Storage System facility in Moss Landing smoldered, support for Vistra Energy’s proposed battery facility in Morro Bay also seems to be going up in flames.
On Thursday, Jan. 16 at about 3 p.m. Vistra’s 300-megawatt BESS facility in Moss Landing caught fire and within a short time, was burning out of control. The fire was in an old power plant building and part of Vistra’s larger 750 MW battery storage complex.
“The first indication the incident had occurred,” reads a news report from The Pajaronian newspaper in Watsonville “was a loud alarm that boomed it’s warning over the Moss Landing Harbor. Shortly afterwards, a column of black smoke wafted into the sky alongside the pair of 500-foot concrete towers that were built in 1950.”
Morro Bay Connection
That old Moss Landing plant with its twin smokestacks, is a sister plant to Morro Bay, which has three smokestacks. Pacific Gas & Electric built both in the 1950s (Morro Bay Units 3 & 4 were completed in 1964). Neither one still produces electricity, though there is a newer, 1200 MW combined-cycle, natural gas power plant at Moss Landing that was built by Duke Energy in the early 2000s and is now owned by Vistra and still produces electricity.
It’s the exact same power plant that Duke tried to build at Morro Bay but was denied by state agencies.
Vistra’s is one of two battery storage facilities at Moss Landing. PG&E built and operates a smaller BESS on the property and together they can store over 900 MW of energy.
PG&E’s plant uses Tesla batteries, while Vistra uses LG Energy Solutions lithium-ion batteries. LGES is a subsidiary of LG Chem, a South Korean chemical company that has been making big batteries since 1992 according to their website.
Both of these battery plants have also had fires in the past, with now three fires at Vistra, according to news reports, and the LGES batteries are what Vistra has said it would use in Morro Bay.
Fire System Failure
The plant apparently had a robust fire suppression system, too.
According to a report from KSBW-TV in Salinas, “Vistra employees did say there was a built-in fire suppression unit, but it failed and wasn’t able to suppress the fire that started in the battery storage unit.”
KSBW asked Vistra’s Senior Director of Community Affairs, Brad Watson, what the plan was for this “worst-case scenario” fire?
“There was a mitigation system that was water-based,” Watson replied. “Part of what we will be doing is studying and investigating why that didn’t work as designed. That will be one of the many questions we will be going through what happened here. We will investigate it and will find out what the cause is.”
A Growing Blaze
The fire continued to grow Thursday afternoon and by that night, the fire had broken through the roof and flames were reaching 200-feet into the sky. A plume of ominous, thick, black smoke rose in a massive column over 1,000 feet and the flames could be seen for miles in videos posted online.
Firefighters were focused on keeping the fire contained but were not trying to put the fire out, as protocol is reportedly to let it burn itself out.
Monterey County spokeswoman Maia Carroll told The Pajaronian, “It is unknown how long this incident may last. No active fire suppression is taking place; the batteries must burn themselves out. No water can be used. This is standard action for battery fires.”
It should be noted that a Vistra official said all their people got out safely and no injuries have been reported.
Moss Was Evacuated
This most recent fire marks at least the fourth time Moss Landing has had an emergency evacuation due to the battery plants.
Caltrans and the Highway Patrol closed Hwy 1 and several other rural roads and highways in and around Moss Landing, Watsonville and Castroville.
Some 1,200 people were evacuated from around the plant, with an evacuation center set up in Castroville the southeast of Moss Landing.
The Elkhorn Slough Natural Reserve next door to the power plant was closed indefinitely.
Schools in the area canceled classes that Friday, a day early for the Martin Luther King Day, 3-day holiday. Students returned to class on the following Tuesday, according to KSBW.
Residents Warned
The Monterey County Office of Emergency Services issued a warning on Thursday to residents: “At this time, no imminent significant threat exists. Sensitive groups including those with respiratory difficulties should monitor local air conditions at: www.iqair.com/us and consider wearing a mask. As a precaution, keep children and pets indoors and keep doors and windows closed.”
The County OES claimed the smoke plume, while toxic, had not tested at harmful levels. One report stated that the plume of smoke rose so high in the air that it didn’t affect air quality at ground level.
Nevertheless, residents miles from the plant were advised to close doors and windows, stay indoors and to turn off ventilation systems. That advisory was echoed by officials in adjacent San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties.
EPA Does Tests
The EPA reportedly responded to the fire scene and has been conducting air, water and soil sampling, looking for the typical toxins that come from large lithium-ion fires.
The main concerns are high levels of hot particulates in the smoke and hydrogen fluoride gas.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Breathing in hydrogen fluoride at high levels can cause death from an irregular heartbeat or from fluid on the lungs.” Minor exposure may cause mouth, nose and throat irritations.
Hot particulates burn the nasal passages and lungs, just like in a wildland fire.
The fire burned out of control all Thursday night but by Friday morning, it had died down enough for the County to lift the evacuation orders at about noon.
However, a little after 1 p.m. Friday, the fire flared up again.
By Saturday, the active fire was out but the facility continued to smolder for several days. A Monterey County Fire Chief said 75% of the building had burned.
After the weekend ended, the complaints from Moss Landing residents started being reported.
KSBW reported, “Moss Landing residents report health issues after a battery plant fire, including headaches, sore throats, and a metallic taste in their mouths.”
‘Our Three-Mile Island’
The fire has elicited strong comments from elected officials and at least one Monterey County Supervisor was downright angry.
Dist. 2 Monterey County Supervisor, Glenn Church, called the fire “our Three-Mile Island.”
“This is really a lot more than just a fire. It’s really a wake-up call for this industry,” Church said. “And if we are going to be moving ahead with sustainable energy, we need to have a safe battery system in place.”
Dist. 30 Assemblywoman, Dawn Addis, who represents San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties (including Morro Bay), and is an advocate for addressing climate change, announced that she’s had a change of heart.
“While we urgently need climate solutions, they must be safe for our communities and environment,” Addis wrote in a Facebook post. “With that in mind, I am calling on Vistra to end its plans for a battery energy storage facility in Morro Bay and urging the California Energy Commission and the California Coastal Commission to reject their permitting application under AB 205.”
BESS Was Paused
Vistra, last October, notified the City of Morro Bay that it was “pausing” its project with the City and would be making application to the Energy Commission, under provisions created in 2022 with passage of AB 205.
That law gave projects like the Morro Bay BESS an option to apply directly to the CEC for a permit, when faced with local opposition. But the company, which originally said it would apply to the CEC in December, has yet to act.
A City Official told Estero Bay News that Vistra hasn’t communicated with the City since October, and the city council planned to discuss sending an ultimatum to the company — either resume the project with the City or formally withdraw it.
EBN asked Vistra’s Meranda Cohn about this and she replied, “At our request, consideration of the development application of the Morro Bay project is paused with the City, and we have not yet submitted our application with the State via Assembly Bill 205. Our immediate focus is working with the first responders and leaders of Moss Landing and Monterey County to provide essential information to the community. Our company’s top priority is safety.
“A comprehensive investigation of this incident will be conducted following this event, which will inform our current and future energy storage operations. We will provide more information once we know more.”
State Sen. John Laird of the 17th Senate District that includes Moss Landing (and Morro Bay as well), said the Moss Landing fire was “deeply troubling.”
Sen. Laird said when the fire broke out, he and the Chairman of the CEC, David Hochschild met with other elected officials at the incident command center, “to receive an initial briefing on the fire’s timeline, air quality and environmental concerns and potential impact on local residents.”
He explained that in 2023, he authored Senate Bill 38 “to require battery storage facilities to develop and submit an emergency safety plan, recognizing the growing prevalence of these systems to meet our state’s clean energy goals.”
He said that SB 38 requires each BESS to write an emergency response and emergency action plan and file it with the county, which he said Vistra had done before the bill’s passage. However, the company never filed anything after passage of SB 38, according to Sen. Laird.
“There are questions as to whether the report covered plans for an incident of this magnitude,” Sen. Laird said. “Furthermore, it appears that PG&E has not filed an emergency safety plan for their adjacent battery storage facility in compliance with the law.”
Still a Believer
Days after the fire, EBN sought comment from Sen. Laird to see if the Moss Landing fire had changed his mind about battery facilities?
“The fire at the Moss Landing battery storage facility,” Laird said, “and subsequent evacuations and shelter-in-place orders is a tragedy for the community. Federal, State, and Local officials are working together to determine both the cause and the near- and long-term impacts of the fire.”
He explained that Vistra’s burning BESS used “old technology.”
“What we do know,” Sen. Laird said, “is the impacted area of the battery storage facility was based off of older technology, with fewer safeguards in place.
“Newer battery storage facilities are built to contain to small areas any potential issue. There have been no reports of significant fire in the 75% of California’s battery storage that employs this newer technology. What is important is that we come to a very clear understanding how safe these newer facilities are, and is that something the community would be interested in learning more about?”
The Senator, who has been a leading proponent of offshore wind energy and battery storage, appears steadfast in the fight against climate change.
“California’s renewable energy goals face many challenges,” Sen. Laird said. “This is an opportunity not just for us as policy makers, however, also for the public to learn more about what does and does not work, so we can all make informed decisions about siting of these needed facilities.”
Local residents — no doubt as well the residents of Moss Landing and Castroville — appear unconvinced.
Losing Local Support
Locally, the project has lost most if not all support, with the social media site, Next Door, blowing up with the news of the Moss Landing fire.
EBN asked all five City Council members if the Moss Landing fire had changed their perspectives?
Councilwoman Zara Landrum has never supported the BESS in Morro Bay. “I always had safety concerns about the idea of a BESS in that location,” Landrum said. “With the recent fire at Moss Landing, there’s no question that the Vistra site would not work for a BESS in Morro Bay. Now we have confirmation that it is absolutely not appropriate for Morro Bay and in fact it makes one question whether Lithium-Ion batteries help improve the environment or are making it much worse.”
She said she was proud that Morro Bay voters passed Measure A-24 in November, a measure that requires the City Council to ask voters’ approval to change the zoning at the power plant from “commercial/visitor-serving” to “industrial” to accommodate the Vistra project.
“They knew not to trust a Fortune 500 Company from Texas,” Landrum continued, “who is also ranked as the largest CO2 producer in the nation when they told them how safe their technology is.
“No matter the promised revenue, if an accident occurred, not only would people’s safety be at risk, but it would also financially devastate the City as well as the entire County’s economy.”
Landrum said they’ve all gotten inundated with calls and emails from concerned constituents. “Considering the shocking severity that we’ve all watched of the Moss Landing incident,” Landrum said, “I would think even many of the opponents of A-24 may agree that Morro Bay is not a fit for a BESS.”
She’s had enough of the Texas energy giant. “Vistra has caused untold damage to the environment and to people’s lives in Monterey County. Who knows the cost to mitigate all of this?”
Councilman Bill Luffee said Moss Landing has changed his mind on the BESS.
“I have been a supporter of the BESS facility from the beginning,” Luffee said, “but the Universe spoke last Thursday, and I have done a 180-degree stance and can no longer consciously support a lithium battery facility in Morro Bay.
“It is anyone’s guess what will happen and to have an answer to that would be premature. The emails to the council have been fast and forthcoming of never having a BESS plant in Morro Bay.
“Technology is changing every day so where we go from here on these facilities is yet to be known.”
Councilwoman, Edwards, who has been on the East Coast attending a funeral, first said she was speaking “on behalf of myself and not the current or a previous council, said, “My thoughts have not changed, rather they are more resolved.
“Safety has been my number one priority all along. I was vocal about my initial concerns during campaigning and continued to do so in the last 2 years serving this community.”
She’s watched battery technology change rapidly. “I’ve been very clear,” Edwards said, “that the technology is changing at a rapid pace, and I’ve questioned the use of lithium-ion, in both its current chemical makeup, the systems, and mitigations in place.”
She’s been steadfast in her positions. “For the last 2 years, I’ve questioned these specifics from the dais and while serving on the subcommittee on our behalf, I’ve continued to stress to the applicant, Vistra, that we were not going to be another college campus for them to test technology.”
Mayor Wixom and Councilman Eckles did not respond before deadline. However, for the majority of last week, four of five Council Members (all but Edwards) have been attending meetings and a leadership academy in Sacramento.
The Council met with Assemblywoman Addis and Sen. Laird in their Sacramento offices. They also met with a team form the Energy and Coastal Commissions. The Moss Landing fire, and Vistra’s Morro Bay project and the move to the CEC under AB 205, were definitely on their agenda.