A fire erupted at a battery storage facility near the Moss Landing Power Plant on California’s Central Coast Thursday afternoon, prompting evacuation orders from Monterey County authorities. The facility, owned by Vistra Energy, is considered the largest of its kind in the world.
Vistra Energy confirmed the incident and reported that on-site personnel had been evacuated. Company spokesperson Jenny Lyon stated, “The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but an investigation will begin once the fire is extinguished.”
Nearby residents were advised to close their windows as a precautionary measure, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. The California Highway Patrol also closed a section of Highway 1 around the site to ensure public safety.
Assemblymember Dawn Addis, who represents the area, expressed concern over the fire. “I am deeply concerned about the safety of the battery storage plant,” Addis said in a social media post. “I will be looking for transparency and accountability for why this happened again at Moss Landing. I am exploring all options to prevent future battery energy storage fires on the Central Coast.”
Vistra’s Moss Landing facility, which is powered by lithium-ion batteries, plays a key role in California’s clean energy strategy. Completed in 2023, the site has a storage capacity of 750 megawatts, sufficient to supply electricity to approximately 562,000 homes for up to four hours. The project is part of California’s broader push to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, requiring a significant expansion of energy storage capacity from 17,000 megawatts currently to a projected 52,000 megawatts.
This is not the first safety incident at the Moss Landing site. In 2021, a malfunctioning heat detector caused damage to the facility, and a small fire broke out in 2022 at an adjacent battery plant owned by Pacific Gas & Electric and supplied by Tesla.
Safety concerns surrounding large-scale battery storage facilities have fueled public opposition to similar projects. In Morro Bay, south of Moss Landing, voters approved a ballot measure in November 2023 to block Vistra from obtaining local permits for another battery storage facility. However, the project remains on track due to a state-level fast-tracked permitting process, bypassing local restrictions.
As investigations into the latest incident begin, questions about the safety and reliability of battery energy storage systems continue to mount. While these facilities are crucial for stabilizing the electrical grid and supporting renewable energy, incidents like the Moss Landing fire highlight the challenges of managing such complex systems.
Authorities and Vistra Energy have not provided a timeline for extinguishing the fire or reopening the affected area. Further updates are expected as the investigation progresses.
