Moss Landing, California’s lithium-ion battery (LIB) storage facility, one of the largest in the world and part of the Moss Landing Power Plant, began burning on January 16, 2024. Monterey County officials responded by declaring a state of emergency and ordering the evacuation of approximately 1,200 residents to protect them from inhaling “toxic smoke” from a plume that was released as the flames consumed some 75% of the battery plant.
Cautious optimism and citizens returned when the evacuation order was lifted by the Monterey County Sheriff’s office on the evening of January 19th. Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, a critical route connecting communities from San Juan Capistrano to Eureka, re-opened as well.
The plant, located about 18 miles from Monterey and 77 miles from San Francisco, is owned by Vistra Energy, which is based in Irving, Texas. It contained “tens of thousands of lithium batteries” used to store electricity produced by renewable energy sources like solar panels, and were an important part of the region’s power grid.
According to the California Energy Commission, as of September of 2024, the state boasted 13,391MW (megawatt hours) of cumulative battery storage capacity. That’s enough capacity to power 13 million California homes. The Moss Landing facility expanded its capacity to 750MW in 2023, making it, according to parent company Vistra Energy, “the largest battery storage facility of its kind in the world.”
How Do Lithium-Ion Battery Storage Systems Work?
If you wonder how the same technology used to power your smartphone can store tens of thousands of megawatt hours of electricity to supply major electrical grid needs, you are not alone.
National Grid, an international energy company that provides renewable energy alternatives in the U.S. and U.K., says, “Lithium-ion batteries, which are used in mobile phones and electric cars, are currently the dominant storage technology for large scale plants to help electricity grids ensure a reliable supply of renewable energy… Battery energy storage systems are considerably more advanced than the batteries you keep in your kitchen drawer or insert into your children’s toys. A battery storage system can be charged by electricity generated from renewable energy like wind and solar power.”
The fundamentals of how the LIB cells store power is simple. Each cell is made up of a lithium cathode, which acts as the positive electrode, and a carbon anode, which provides the negative electrode. When electricity flows into them, a series of chemical reactions occur that allow the cell to accumulate and store that power.
Unlike traditional home alkaline batteries, lithium cells have a high energy density and efficiency in charging and discharging. A group of LIB cells is called a module. A single module can exceed 90% efficiency. LIB batteries also allow for modularity, a term that means the cells can be scaled into modules or packs with interchangeable and/or stackable components that can be tailored to meet electricity needs.
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This modularity makes LIBs ideal for storing large quantities of energy. However, that capacity does not come without risk.
How “Thermal Runaway” May Have Accelerated the Fire
Fires like Moss Landing’s, fueled by the lithium-ion batteries it consumed, burn extremely hot, move fast, and as mentioned, create toxic plumes that can be extremely dangerous. Experts in the renewable energy sector refer to these fires as “thermal runaway.” In thermal runaway, lithium-ion batteries’ casings become pressurized due to the consumption of its organic electrolyte. The pressurized casing then gives way, releasing its highly flammable and toxic contents. Should enough cells be compromised by extreme heat, the chain reaction of thermal runaway occurs. It is considered “unstoppable.”
The fire burned hot and fast enough that the facility’s fire suppression system was unable to dampen it. Initially, it seemed to have burned out late on the night of the 16th, but flared to life again on the 17th. Luckily, according to Monterey County’s Nicholas Pasculli, the fire itself never reached beyond the boundaries of the facility.
Are Lithium-Ion Storage Facilities Safe?
LIB facilities are part of the broader class of energy storage systems (ESS) that can store clean/green energy and release it for use. According to information at cleanpower.org, run by the American Clean Power Association (ACP), a group dedicated to removing clean power barriers to accelerate its growth, as of the third quarter of 2023, utility-scale storage capacity had grown to seven times its capacity in 2020.
Because the technology is both fast-growing and new to most utility consumers, questions about safety are inevitable.
Although the risk of thermal runaway exists with any LIB fire, “cell failure rates are extremely low, and safety features in today’s designs further reduce the probability of fires.” Many ESSs use lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) rather than the nickel-manganese-cobalt configuration found in many electric vehicles (EVs).
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) provides recommendations for standard operating procedures should an LIB fire occur. Those procedures include a pre incident plan, including disconnect locations, verification of building and installation codes, specifically the NFPA 1 Fire Code and NFPA 855, use of PPE, including SCBA with face piece, avoiding potential vapor clouds, evacuation of the area, and defense nearby structures.
They strongly advise that no firefighter enter an LIB facility fire location due to both the extreme temperatures and toxins.
With the Moss Landing Fire, local officials are calling for “transparency and accountability,” while one Monterey County official called it the “worst case scenario.” The American Clean Power Association pushed back against that narrative, reminding reporters at Utility Dive that throughout the entire U.S. there have only been 20 fire-related incidents at ESS facilities in the last decade, even while lithium-ion storage has exceeded 25,000% growth since 2018.
Did the L.A. Wildfires Have Anything to Do with the Moss Landing Fire?
For those outside California, it is easy to assume that the Moss Landing fire might have something to do with the Palisades and Easton Fires in L.A. However, Los Angeles is more than 318 miles south of Moss Landing. The battery plant fire is not related, and its cause is still unknown, but North County Fire Protection District Chief Joel Mendoza briefed the press on January 17th, saying that a fire suppression system in one of the facilities battery racks had failed, which allowed it to spread.
A spokesperson for Vistra shared the following with CBS News: “An investigation will begin once the fire is extinguished.”
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