Energy storage is messy. We want the world to run on sun and wind, but the sun goes down and the wind stops blowing. That’s why the massive Tesla Megapack project at Moss Landing exists. But when news broke about the battery fire Moss Landing endured, it sent a shockwave through the renewable energy industry. People were scared. Honestly, rightfully so. Seeing thick plumes of smoke rising from a "green" facility feels like a massive contradiction.
It wasn't just one incident, either. The Vistra Corp facility and the PG&E Elkhorn Battery site—both located at the same harbor—have had their share of "thermal events." That’s the corporate term for a fire. If you’re living in Monterey County or just following the transition to a carbon-free grid, you’ve probably wondered if these massive lithium-ion banks are actually safe to have in our backyards.
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The truth is more nuanced than a simple "batteries are dangerous" headline. It’s about sensors, programming glitches, and the growing pains of scaling technology at a pace the world has never seen before.
The September 2022 Vistra Incident: A Play-by-Play
On September 20, 2022, around 1:30 AM, a fire broke out at the Vistra energy storage facility. This wasn't a small spark. It triggered a massive response. Highway 1 was shut down. Shelter-in-place orders were issued for the surrounding North Monterey County area. People were told to close their windows and turn off their ventilation systems because nobody was quite sure what was in that smoke.
What caused it? You’d think it was a battery exploding spontaneously. It wasn't.
Investigation reports later revealed that the issue actually started with the cooling system. Specifically, a leak in the internal cooling pipes caused water to spray onto the battery modules. When you mix water and high-voltage electronics, you get a short circuit. That short led to a thermal runaway in a small number of cells.
It's kind of ironic. The system designed to keep the batteries cool is exactly what caused them to ignite.
The PG&E Elkhorn Fire (Tesla Megapack)
Just months before the Vistra mess, the neighboring PG&E facility—which uses Tesla Megapacks—had its own crisis. This one was a bit more visual. A single Tesla Megapack ignited. While the fire didn't spread to the other units, it burned for hours.
Firefighters didn't just rush in with hoses. You can't really "put out" a lithium-ion fire with traditional methods. You basically have to let it burn itself out while cooling the surrounding units to prevent a chain reaction. This is known as "defensive firefighting." It’s a terrifying thing to watch because it looks like the experts are doing nothing, but they are actually managing the heat to save the rest of the $600 million facility.
Why Moss Landing is the World's Testing Ground
Moss Landing is a weird, beautiful place. It’s famous for sea otters and the massive twin smokestacks of the old natural gas power plant. Now, those smokestacks stand over what has become the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) in the world.
Vistra’s Phase I and II combined offer 400 megawatts of capacity. That’s enough to power roughly 300,000 homes for four hours. When you build something that big, you are the guinea pig. Every mistake is a global lesson.
- Scale: We’ve never packed this much energy into such a small footprint before.
- Location: The salt air from the Pacific Ocean is incredibly corrosive. It eats through metal and gaskets.
- Software: These batteries are managed by complex algorithms that balance the load. A single line of bad code can misinterpret a heat sensor.
The Toxic Smoke Concern: Reality vs. Fear
The biggest question after the battery fire Moss Landing events was: "What am I breathing?"
Lithium-ion fires release a cocktail of chemicals. Hydrogen fluoride and carbon monoxide are the big ones. During the 2022 fire, the Monterey County Health Department and the Air Pollution Control District monitored the air quality constantly. Surprisingly, the readings remained below hazardous levels for the general public, mostly because the wind dispersed the plume toward the ocean.
However, "below hazardous levels" doesn't mean it’s healthy. If you’re a first responder standing five feet away, it’s deadly. This is why the shelter-in-place orders are so strict. Even a small amount of hydrogen fluoride gas can cause permanent lung damage if the concentration is high enough.
What Most People Get Wrong About These Fires
Many critics of green energy point to these fires as proof that the technology isn't ready. They'll say, "See? Solar and wind are dangerous."
But compare this to the history of the fossil fuel industry. Refineries explode. Gas lines leak and level city blocks. Oil tankers spill. The difference is that we've become desensitized to those risks. We are hyper-aware of battery fires because they are new.
Another misconception is that the batteries are "unstable." They aren't. They are actually very stable until something external—like a cooling leak or a physical impact—compromises the housing. In the Vistra case, the failure wasn't the battery chemistry; it was the plumbing.
The Aftermath: How the Industry Is Changing
Since the battery fire Moss Landing incidents, the industry has pivoted hard toward safety. You won't see these facilities built the same way anymore.
Vistra and Tesla both performed deep-dive forensics. They found that the "early warning" systems were actually too sensitive or, in some cases, not sensitive enough in the right places. They've since updated the firmware to shut down systems the second a pressure drop is detected in the cooling lines—long before a spark can happen.
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- Enhanced Gasket Requirements: New builds use higher-grade, corrosion-resistant seals to withstand the salty Monterey air.
- Physical Separation: Units are being spaced further apart to ensure that if one "thermal event" happens, it doesn't melt the unit next to it.
- Water Management: Better drainage so that if a sprinkler system activates, the water doesn't pool and cause more shorts.
Is Moss Landing Safe Now?
Safe is a relative term. Is it safer than it was in 2022? Absolutely.
The facility is back online and remains a critical part of California’s grid. During the record-breaking heatwaves of the last few summers, Moss Landing was a lifesaver. It discharged power in the evenings when the solar production dropped, preventing rolling blackouts across the state.
If Moss Landing didn't exist, California would likely have had to fire up older, much dirtier "peaker" plants that spew smog directly into the atmosphere every single day. The trade-off is a rare, localized fire risk versus a constant, guaranteed pollution risk.
Actionable Steps for Residents and Policy Makers
If you live near a large-scale battery installation or are involved in local planning, there are specific things you should be looking for to ensure safety isn't being sidelined for speed.
For Local Residents:
- Sign up for Alert Monterey County. This is the fastest way to get shelter-in-place info. Don't rely on Twitter or Facebook.
- Understand the "Shelter-in-Place" protocol. It means more than just staying inside. You need to shut off your HVAC system. Modern homes pull in outside air; you want to stop that flow immediately if there's a chemical plume.
- Keep a mask handy. While N95s don't filter out gases like hydrogen fluoride, they do help with the particulate matter (soot) that accompanies these fires.
For Developers and Engineers:
- Prioritize LFP over NMC. Many newer installations are moving to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry. It has a much higher thermal stability point than the Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) batteries used in earlier phases. They are harder to catch on fire.
- Redundant Leak Detection: If the Vistra fire taught us anything, it’s that you need sensors on the cooling pipes just as much as you need them on the batteries.
- Community Transparency: Don't hide the "thermal events." Vistra’s reputation took a hit not just because of the fire, but because of the initial lack of clarity.
The battery fire Moss Landing saga isn't a reason to abandon energy storage. It's a textbook on how to build it better. As we move toward a grid dominated by renewables, these sites will become as common as gas stations. Learning these lessons now—at the expense of a few melted Megapacks—is a price the industry is forced to pay for a cleaner future.
The facility at Moss Landing continues to operate, now under much stricter scrutiny. It serves as a reminder that the "bleeding edge" of technology sometimes involves actual smoke and fire. But as the firmware gets smarter and the gaskets get tougher, the risk profile continues to drop. We are watching the evolution of a power grid in real-time, and it’s never a smooth ride.
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Source Reference Check:
- Vistra Corp's official incident report to the CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission).
- Monterey County Weekly's investigative series on the Moss Landing BESS.
- Tesla’s safety documentation regarding the 2022 Elkhorn battery fire.
- Air quality data from the Monterey Bay Air Resources District (MBARD).
To stay informed, residents should regularly check the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services (OES) website for updated evacuation routes and hazard maps related to the industrial zone. If you are an investor or tech enthusiast, monitoring the CPUC's public filings on "Self-Generation Incentive Program" (SGIP) safety will give you the most accurate data on battery failure rates nationwide.