MONTEREY COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
On January 16, 2025, Vistra Corporation's battery energy-storage system (with a 4,000-megawatt-hour capacity, possibly the world's largest BESS) in Moss Landing, California, 70 miles from San Francisco, caught fire for the fourth time in three years. This time, eighty percent of the system's lithium-ion batteries went up in toxic smoke.
Officials evacuated 1700 nearby residents and closed roads, schools and businesses.
The EPA said, "We don't know what toxins to look for." By the time they studied the air, toxins had dissipated, and the EPA found that the fire caused no health risk.
Nearby residents reported breathing problems, rashes, headaches and other problems.
After this BESS fire, in a nearby reserve, scientists from San Jose State University found heavy metals at the surface of soil, 100-1000 times normal levels.
Monterey County Commissioner Glenn Church said that this fire occurred even though protocols were followed exactly. He called the fire "a Three Mile Island event for this industry."
SANTA FE COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
The Santa Fe County Planning Commission held hearings on February 3rd and 4th, 2025. AES Corporation insisted that its lithium-ion batteries and safety features are different from the ones that caught fire at Moss Landing and at other failed BESS facilities. AES promised that it has eliminated potential fire risks. Atar, a professional engineering firm that carries liability for its reports, agreed with AES' claims.
The Sierra Club, Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce and 350.org all voiced support for AES's project. During the public comment period, one woman said she much preferred a BESS fire to a climate change fire.
Ashley Schaunauer, retired senior Hearing Officer for New Mexico's Public Regulatory Commission, explained that Santa Fe County lacks an emergency response plan. It lacks a hazardous material response plan. It does not have staff trained to deal with a BESS fire, should one occur. While AES's application addresses risks to the facility's workers, it does not address the corporation's history of accidents or risks to natural gas transmission lines. It does not consider lithium iron phosphate batteries, which have more stable chemistry than the lithium-ion batteries AES proposes using.
The Planning Commission voted six to one in favor of permitting AES' proposal.
In March, the Santa Fe County Board of Commissioners will vote about permitting AES's project. Whoever loses the case will likely appeal it to district court.
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