Moss Landing battery goes offline due to overheating for second time
An energy storage facility owned by Vistra Energy in Moss Landing, California houses the largest lithium-ion battery in the world. The only problem is the battery packs keep on melting.
Last weekend on February 13, the facility experienced another meltdown, the second in five months, according to local broadcaster KSBW.
What could be going wrong?
Battery packs melted
It all began when four fire trucks responded to a fire alarm at the energy company’s site.
When they arrived the fire had been subdued by the facility’s fire suppression system.
There were no flames but ten lithium-ion battery packs had been melted.
Vistra then released the following statement on February 15:
“Late on February 13, the early detection safety system activated in the 100-megawatt Phase II building at our Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility. As is our protocol at all of our facilities, we contacted off-site emergency response out of an abundance of caution.
The building’s systems contained the event without the need for outside assistance. There are no injuries to personnel.”
Fragile systems
The previous fire had occurred in September and had set off sprinklers that damaged around 7,000 batteries.
The incidents illustrate how fragile battery storage systems are.
Lithium-ion batteries not only ignite easily but also produce fires that are difficult to contain because water does not put them out.
Vistra added that it was now looking further into the new incident.
“An investigation is underway to determine what caused the safety system to activate. While this is in its very early stages, what we know is the water-based suppression system released water that contacted some batteries. There is early evidence that water hoses leaked and that some batteries shorted, creating smoke in the building, similar to what we observed with the September incident at our 300-MW Phase I facility next door,” added the company in its statement.
In the meantime, the facility remains offline to avoid any future fire incidents while the problem is worked out.
See more here: interestingengineering.com
Header image: Wikimedia Commons
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Andy
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These ‘battery farms’ are an accident waiting to happen.
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Howdy
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‘Incendiary Storage Facility’
four fire trucks responded but not needed.
Weigh up how much stored energy alone has been lost in the two incidents. How much more it cost in restoration, external services, not including all the replacements.
“the water-based suppression system released water that contacted some batteries. There is early evidence that water hoses leaked”
You’ve got to be kidding me! Water spraying in the presence of high voltages, and it gets inside the equipment? Where is the moisture sealing? Doesn’t the equipment contain any kind of internal fire suppression?
A leak? Ever heard of preventative maintenance?
As allways with this nonsense, the questions come later…
I would have thought 2 incidents would be enough for most people, but maybe the third is what destroys the whole setup next time.
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schutzhund
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sabotage?
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Howdy
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Hi schutzhund,
“sabotage?”
Oddly enough, it appears the first fire was due to water leaks too.
“When the accident occurred, a small number of joints on the hoses and pipes that were part of the battery cooling system failed, causing water to be sprayed on the battery rack. This in turn leads to short circuit and arc, which leads to battery damage and more smoke.”
https://news.metal.com/newscontent/101754521/Second-fire-Accidents-continue-to-occur-at-the-largest-energy-storage-battery-power-station-in-the-world/
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Tom
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More proof liberals act out of insanity and agenda and never look beyond their brain farts. This is the dumbest technology ever invented.
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T. C. Clark
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There are many battery technologies – sodium-ion batteries may be a better choice for a utility over lithium but apparently none are ready for prime time. If the use of batteries is about CO2 then it’s all a waste of time and money anyways.
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BeSmartUseYourBrain
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This plant has had issues with overheating several times in the past (2021,2022) and the company said they were going to investigate the issue and find a resolution so that there would be no more issues. Now on, January 17 2025, the plant catches fire and their “containment” system failed causing nearly the entire plant to burn down. Obviously they did not find the proper solution to the issue. You would think that the company would make correcting any issues a top priority due to the consequences of the plant catching fire and their system failing which puts every human life that lives or visits the area near the plant in serious danger because of the toxic plumes of smoke contaminating the air that they breathe. What will be the long term effects on the residents that live in that area? Cancer? Death? Breathing difficulties? Other health issues? This is an answer that will not be known for years to come, but it truly shows that this battery plant which is supposed to be the largest in the world, or was until it burned down, was not monitored or maintained properly in order to avoid such traumatic events occurring, even when they had prior nearly tragic events. They apparently did not understand that it was giving them plenty of warnings so they could prevent a future disaster from happening. What a shame.
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BeSmartUseYourBrain
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This plant has had issues with overheating several times in the past (2021,2022) and the company said they were going to investigate the issue and find a resolution so that there would be no more issues. Now on, January 17 2025, the plant catches fire and their “containment” system failed causing nearly the entire plant to burn down. Obviously they did not find the proper solution to the issue. You would think that the company would make correcting any issues a top priority due to the consequences of the plant catching fire and their system failing which puts every human life that lives or visits the area near the plant in serious danger because of the toxic plumes of smoke contaminating the air that they breathe. What will be the long term effects on the residents that live in that area? Cancer? Death? Breathing difficulties? Other health issues? This is an answer that will not be known for years to come, but it truly shows that this battery plant which is supposed to be the largest in the world, or was until it burned down, was not monitored or maintained properly in order to avoid such traumatic events occurring, even when they had prior nearly tragic events. They apparently did not understand that it was giving them plenty of warnings so they could prevent a future disaster from happening. What a shame. Perhaps they will use their brains next time, if there is a next time. This battery plant is a total loss.
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