Massive Fire at Moss Landing Battery Facility Highlights Challenges in California’s Energy Transition
Massive Fire at Moss Landing Battery Facility Highlights Challenges in California’s Energy Transition
Moss Landing, Calif. (Jan. 17, 2025) — A fire at Vistra Corp's Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, one of the world’s largest battery energy storage systems, has sparked concerns about the reliability and safety of battery technology as California accelerates its transition to renewable energy. The blaze, which erupted Thursday and continued smoldering through Friday, forced nearby evacuations and drew attention to the state’s ambitious clean energy goals.
The Moss Landing facility, located in Monterey County, plays a crucial role in California's energy grid. With a capacity of 750 megawatts and 3,000 megawatt-hours, it stores power generated by intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind and releases it during peak demand periods. This capability is integral to California’s plan to achieve 52,000 MW of battery storage by 2045 to complement its renewable energy fleet.
Fire Response and Investigation
Fire Chief Joel Mendoza of the North County Fire District confirmed that most of the flames had been extinguished, though the site continues to emit smoke. Early suppression efforts were hampered when the facility’s water-based mitigation system failed to operate as designed. “Part of our investigation will be to determine why the system did not perform,” said Brad Watson, Vistra’s senior director of community affairs.
Firefighters opted to let the fire burn itself out to avoid exacerbating the situation. No injuries were reported, and personnel evacuated safely, but nearby residents were temporarily displaced due to the risk of toxic smoke from burning lithium-ion batteries.
Implications for California’s Energy Future
The incident raises questions about the resilience of battery energy storage systems (BESS) as California seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels. The state currently leads the U.S. in grid-scale energy storage, with over 13,300 MW installed by the end of 2024. However, incidents at Moss Landing — including two prior overheating events in 2021 and 2022 — underscore the technological and operational challenges of scaling up battery systems.
“This fire is a reminder that while battery storage is a cornerstone of our clean energy transition, the technology is still evolving,” said Sarah Nguyen, an energy policy analyst. “California’s success depends on ensuring these systems are safe, reliable, and capable of handling increasing demand.”
Statewide Ambitions and the Role of Moss Landing
The Moss Landing site has been a flagship project for energy storage, leveraging existing infrastructure from an adjacent natural gas plant. It has received significant investment under long-term contracts with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to provide resource adequacy to the grid. Despite setbacks, the facility represents a key step toward achieving California’s 2045 carbon neutrality target.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office reaffirmed the state’s commitment to clean energy but emphasized the importance of addressing risks associated with new technologies. “California will continue to lead the way in renewable energy and battery storage, but we must also lead in ensuring these systems are robust and secure,” the governor said in a statement.
Next Steps
Vistra has yet to disclose the financial impact of the fire or a timeline for restoring operations at Moss Landing. The company has pledged a comprehensive review of the incident, including an evaluation of the failed suppression system. Meanwhile, energy officials and regulators are likely to scrutinize safety protocols at other storage facilities statewide.
As California builds the next generation of energy infrastructure, the Moss Landing fire serves as both a setback and a lesson in the complex path to a sustainable and resilient grid.
Vistra's battery storage facility goes up in flames, spurs evacuation orders
- Companies
Jan 17 (Reuters) - One of the world's largest battery storage facilities — Vistra Corp's
(VST.N), opens new tab3000-megawatt in Moss Landing, south of San Francisco — continues to be on fire as of Friday, a day after it went up in flames.
The blaze, whose cause remains under investigation, is expected to remain contained to the building.
The fire is nowhere near the Los Angeles-area wildfires.
Fire Chief Joel Mendoza of the North County Fire District said at this point, most of the fire had gone out. He was speaking at a press conference held by the County of Monterey.
"We have very little active flame (and) we have very little products of combustion being put out into the atmosphere," he added.
A water-based mitigation system did not work as designed, Vistra's senior director of community affairs Brad Watson said at the conference.
"Part of what we will be doing is studying and investigating why that didn't work as designed. And that will be one of the many, many questions we will be going through to find out what happened here," Watson added.
Burning fire at the site of Vistra Corp's power plant in Moss Landing, California, U.S., January 16, 2025 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. @picklevisionz via instagram/via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Earlier in the day, a Monterey Sheriff official had said there were no active fire suppression efforts going on, "as the best approach, according to fire staff, is to allow the building and batteries to burn."
Both Vistra and the county official said that all site personnel had been evacuated and no injuries were reported. The fire had also prompted evacuation of places nearby.
Vistra has not yet released any statement on potential financial impact from the fire or any timeline on recovery efforts.
Vistra did not immediately respond to a request seeking details on its investigation.
An adjacent Tesla battery facility was not affected by the fire, the official added.
The impact of the ongoing fire on the energy storage sector and the supply chain remains unclear.
Lithium-ion batteries have solidified their position as the technology of choice in the electric vehicle market, and the market for these batteries is projected to keep growing at about 30% annually.
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Reporting by Vallari Srivastava, Seher Dareen, Mrinalika Roy, Shubham Kalia, Kanjyik Ghosh and Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Sharon Singleton, Leroy Leo and Shailesh Kuber
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Vistra Completes Milestone Expansion of Flagship California Energy Storage System
Vistra Completes Milestone Expansion of Flagship California Energy Storage System
350 MW / 1,400 MWh addition is online and bolstering California grid reliability this summer
, /PRNewswire/ -- Vistra (NYSE: VST) is announcing that it has completed the 350-megawatt/1,400-megawatt-hour Phase III expansion of its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, bringing its total capacity to 750 MW/3,000 MWh, the largest of its kind in the world. The Phase III expansion achieved commercial operation on June 2 and is now storing power and releasing it to California's grid. It will operate under a 15-year resource adequacy agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) beginning August 1.
"As we navigate this energy transition to cleaner fuel sources, the ability to balance that shift with both reliability and affordability is paramount," said Jim Burke, Vistra president and CEO. "Continued investment in energy storage, like our Moss Landing site, allows us to harness and store a substantial and growing amount of power from intermittent renewables and then deliver that electricity when customers need it most."
Burke continued, "We appreciate the continued partnership with PG&E, which allows us to bring our expertise in energy storage to bolster the reliability of California's growing renewable portfolio and provide much-needed power to its residents."
The Phase III project, which is made up of 122 individual containers that together house more than 110,000 battery modules, was completed on schedule and within budget in just 16 months, despite a challenging supply chain environment and tremendous rainfall.
Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility is co-located on the site of Vistra's existing natural gas-fueled Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County – a site that has provided critical electricity to Californians since 1950.
"Like our other energy storage projects, we've been able to locate this project at a site that has historically been used for electricity production, enabling the reuse of a site with existing industrial zoning and infrastructure and with the physical space for potential growth. In addition, revitalizing existing sites ensures the local communities continue to benefit from ongoing operations while we provide affordable electricity to consumers."
Executing on its commitment to grow its zero-carbon portfolio has made Vistra a market leader in battery energy storage, as it now owns the second-most energy storage capacity in the country. In addition to its California assets, Vistra owns and operates two solar facilities, one solar-plus-storage facility, and a 260-MW storage facility, all in Texas. Additionally, Vistra has a robust pipeline of projects, including four solar installations and 10 other storage and solar-plus-storage facilities, all in various stages of development in Illinois and Texas.
With a commitment to affordability, reliability, and sustainability, Vistra announced earlier this year its intention to further grow its zero-carbon portfolio through the acquisition of Energy Harbor's 4,000-MW nuclear fleet. Once the transaction closes, which is expected later this year, Vistra will own and operate the second-largest competitive nuclear fleet in the country, with 6,400 MW of carbon-free nuclear power. The company also continues to operate a large, dispatchable power fleet that brings flexibility and reliability while the country continues to transition to low-carbon resources.
About Vistra
Vistra (NYSE: VST) is a leading Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company based in Irving, Texas,
providing essential resources for customers, commerce, and communities.
Vistra combines an innovative, customer-centric approach to retail with
safe, reliable, diverse, and efficient power generation. The company
brings its products and services to market in 20 states and the District of Columbia,
including all major competitive wholesale power markets in the U.S.
Serving approximately 4 million residential, commercial, and industrial
retail customers with electricity and natural gas, Vistra is one of the
largest competitive electricity providers in the country and offers over
50 renewable energy plans. The company is also the largest competitive
power generator in the U.S. with a capacity of approximately 37,000
megawatts powered by a diverse portfolio, including natural gas,
nuclear, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. The company owns
and operates the 750-MW/3,000-MWh battery energy storage system in Moss Landing, California,
the largest of its kind in the world. Vistra is guided by four core
principles: we do business the right way, we work as a team, we compete
to win, and we care about our stakeholders, including our customers, our
communities where we work and live, our employees, and our investors.
Learn more about our environmental, social, and governance efforts and
read the company's sustainability report at https://www.vistracorp.com/sustainability/.
SOURCE Vistra Corp.
For further information: Media: Meranda Cohn, Media.Relations@vistracorp.com, 214-875-8004 or Analysts: Meagan Horn, Investor@vistracorp.com, 214-812-0046
Moss Landing: World’s biggest battery storage project is now 3GWh capacity
Owner Vistra Energy has announced the completion of work to expand its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California, the world’s largest lithium battery energy storage system (BESS) asset.
Power generation and retail company Vistra said yesterday (1 August) that the Phase III expansion achieved the start of commercial operations near the beginning of June.
An additional 350MW output and 1,400MWh energy capacity has been added to the plant, bringing it to a total 750MW/3,000MWh.
This comes after the 300MW/1,200MWh Phase I was completed in 2020, followed by the addition of another 100MW/400MWh in Phase II the following year.
As with the first two phases, offtaker of the new batteries will be California investor-owned utility (IOU) Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The utility has contracted with Vistra for resource adequacy (RA), the California mechanism for ensuring electric load-serving entities in the state deliver energy reliably to customers and with sufficient supply.
RA is the main reason for California becoming a world leader in grid-scale BESS deployments. The fact that battery developers can secure long-term contracts with associated revenue streams from electricity supplier offtakers has seen the market surpass 5GW in the main CAISO grid service area.
RA requirements include delivery of electricity in four-hour blocks, which is why most new-build battery storage facilities in the state have durations of that length.
PG&E’s new contract for Moss Landing Phase III, also known as MOSS350, is under a 15-year term and was approved by California regulators in April 2022.
Vistra Energy noted that the expansion was completed on schedule within a 16-month timeframe, adding more than 110,000 battery modules in 112 containerised units. It comes after the company reported in May that the expansion was on track, as it announced its most recent financial results.
Being built on the same site as a Vistra natural gas power plant meant the company was able to leverage existing electricity grid infrastructure, while zoning was not an issue and allows for potential further growth of the BESS plant, Vistra Energy CEO and president Jim Burke said.
Vistra has previously said Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility could eventually host 1.5GW/6GWh of battery storage, if market conditions make that viable. PG&E also has a BESS plant that it owns, the 182.5MW/730MWh Elkhorn Battery project, at the Moss Landing site.
“As we navigate this energy transition to cleaner fuel sources, the ability to balance that shift with both reliability and affordability is paramount,” Burke said.
“Continued investment in energy storage, like our Moss Landing site, allows us to harness and store a substantial and growing amount of power from intermittent renewables and then deliver that electricity when customers need it most.”
Moss Landing: Will likely be largest by megawatt-hours for a while
As regular readers of Energy-Storage.news will know, Vistra’s Moss Landing project has not had the easiest first few years of operation: between September 2021 and June 2022, both of the first two phases had to be taken offline after separate overheating incidents. PG&E’s Elkhorn project also had an overheating incident of its own in September 2022.
Nonetheless, Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility is thought to remain the largest BESS project in the world, a claim enhanced by the latest expansion.
Notably large projects in development include the Waratah Super Battery in Australia which will be at least 850MW/1,680MWh and on which construction is getting underway. In the UK, developer Carlton Power recently got planning consent for a 1,040MW/2,080MWh project near Manchester, England.
The biggest project to come online during 2022 meanwhile was Crimson Energy Storage, also in California, which is 350MW/1,400MWh.
Vistra has previously claimed it will have over 1.2GW of battery storage in its US portfolio by 2026. The company, which has a diverse fleet of assets including renewables, fossil fuels, nuclear and energy storage, is set to report its latest quarterly financial results on 8 August.
California is a world leader in energy storage with the largest fleet of batteries that store energy for the electricity grid. Energy storage is an important tool to support grid reliability and complement the state’s abundant renewable energy resources. These technologies capture energy generated during non-peak times to be dispatched at the end of the day and into the evening as the sun sets and solar resources go offline, reducing dependence on fossil fuel generation to meet peak loads.
The Public Utilities Code defines an energy storage system as a commercially available technology that absorbs energy, storing it for a specified period, and then dispatches the energy. From 2018 to 2024, battery storage capacity in California increased from 500 megawatts (MW) to more than 13,300 MW, with an additional 3,000 MW planned to come online by the end of 2024. The state projects 52,000 MW of battery storage will be needed by 2045.
This dashboard presents statewide data for residential, commercial and utility-scale installations as of September 11, 2024.
Dashboard is best viewed from a computer. Visit Tableau for the full page layout of dashboard
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