It is reported that a fire occurred at the large power plant Moss Landing Power Plant in the city of Moss Landing in the US state of California. The fire is believed to have started in a lithium battery energy storage facility. Evacuations have been announced for nearby areas, and residents in the area are advised to close windows and doors and turn off ventilation. Hydrogen fluoride released when lithium batteries burn poses a health hazard.
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In 2013, California passed a law requiring all power plants to have lithium battery storage capacity. Everyone was given 10 years to do this. The Moss Landing Power Plant runs on natural gas. It was the most powerful in the state, generating 2.6 GW of power. In 2016, at the request of the authorities, the power was reduced by approximately half by removing two units from operation. Construction of battery energy storage facilities on the site began in 2019. Initially LG batteries were used.
In 2020, Elon Musk’s company joined in creating buffer energy reserves on batteries at the Moss Landing Power Plant. After the implementation of both projects, by 2023, two independent energy storage facilities with a capacity of 930 MW and a capacity of 3,700 MWh were created at the power plant. During the construction process and after the start of operation of the storage facility, there were several accidents with blocks catching fire. It is likely that the fire that broke out was also related to the accident, since the forest fires currently raging in California are about 500 km away from the power plant as the crow flies.