Recently, a massive fire broke out at a California power plant on Friday morning, posing a threat to one of the world’s biggest battery energy storage facilities. According to reports, the fire started inside a building housing lithium-ion batteries, known to be exceedingly difficult to extinguish. Fortunately, there have been no deaths as a result of the fires.
However, authorities report that the fire took place took place beside the Elkhorn Slough Wildlife Reserve, where the emissions from the fire have impacted surrounding wildlife. The Moss Landing power plant, operated by the Texas-based company Vistra Corp, was evacuated without injuries. Hundreds of others have been ordered to evacuate the surrounding area and part of Highway 1 in Northern California.
Reports indicate that firefighters are letting the blaze burn out as advised by fire experts instead of actively trying to extinguish the fire. Local officials are calling for accountability, claiming several fires have occurred at the facility in recent years. The incident has led to renewed concerns about the renewable energy transition and its viability.
Monterey County Communications Director Nicholas Pasculli said in a press conference, “When we were first notified about this incident, we sprung into action immediately following the notification from North County fire which chief Mendoza will go into more detail later, our EOC Emergency Operations Center was activated to a level two, which is the second highest level in our emergency operations system, fully staffed with county staff and partner agencies from around the county.”
County Supervisor Glenn Church described the fire as a “worst-case scenario disaster.” Church also asserted that renewable forms of energy must have proper safeguards. “Nobody predicted anything on this line. And this is really a lot more than just a fire. It’s really a wake-up call for this industry. And if we’re going to be moving ahead with sustainable energy, we need to have safe battery systems in place,” he said.
Church emphasized that accountability will be had over the incident. “While our immediate concern is really safety right now, and the other other speakers will be addressing that. It’s not really too soon to look ahead. There must be accountability for this, and there will be accountability. We need to get the information out and need to be transparent and needs to be clear,” he said.
He continued, “I understand, as I mentioned just a few moments ago, the need for these batteries into creating a sustainable, climate-friendly energy source, and I had a lot of people in my community over the years ask, why do we have batteries over here and Moss Landing next to an environmentally sensitive area, the Elkhorn Slough we have the Monterey Bay. Of course, that is because the infrastructure is there.”
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The supervisor emphasized, “As we move forward to a more Sustainable Energy Source, and this transition that’s going forth, this transition, transition cannot and will not come before the safety of our families and our environment, and that really has to take the priority at this point more than anything else. This is the fourth fire at that site since 2019 there are two battery operations going on there, and both of them have had fires, and this has got to be the last one.”
Watch a clip of the fire below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.