Battery storage plant catches fire in California, forcing state’s latest evacuations: ‘This is a disaster’

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Battery storage plant catches fire in California, forcing state’s latest evacuations: ‘This is a disaster’

A massive blaze erupted at one of the world’s largest lithium battery storage facilities in wildfire-ravaged California, forcing some 1,500

dnyuz.com

 

[HitchHiker71]

Battery storage plant catches fire in California, forcing state’s latest evacuations: ‘This is a disaster’

A massive blaze erupted at one of the world’s largest lithium battery storage facilities in wildfire-ravaged California, forcing some 1,500

dnyuz.com

Saw this first thing this morning - not good. That is Cali's largest battery array for power storage. There are several different sections. I wonder if this is arson related? The section that caught fire uses LG batteries that are likely NMC batteries. There's also a large Tesla megapack installation at that same location, in a different section, that remains operational at this time at least, and uses LFP utility grade batteries, which have almost no fire risk when compared to traditional LI- NMC/NCM/NCA packs. I'd stick with LFP packs for commercial utility battery arrays like this. They aren't as energy dense when compared to LI-NMC - but who cares really - just use a slightly larger footprint (land) instead.

 

[easyrider]

Saw this first thing this morning - not good. That is Cali's largest battery array for power storage. There are several different sections. I wonder if this is arson related? The section that caught fire uses LG batteries that are likely NMC batteries. There's also a large Tesla megapack installation at that same location, in a different section, that remains operational at this time at least, and uses LFP utility grade batteries, which have almost no fire risk when compared to traditional LI- NMC/NCM/NCA packs. I'd stick with LFP packs for commercial utility battery arrays like this. They aren't as energy dense when compared to LI-NMC - but who cares really - just use a slightly larger footprint (land) instead.

It could be arson but because the article actually says "notoriously flammable " when describing lithium batteries my bet it's not arson.

Bill

 

[HitchHiker71]

It could be arson but because the article actually says "notoriously flammable " when describing lithium batteries my bet it's not arson.

Bill

Headlines for clickbait purposes always - there's another article that falsely reports that the Tesla Megapack is what caught fire - which is not true for example - but it gets a lot of clicks for sure!

 

[emeryjre]

I have not kept track of the number of the battery storage facilities that have caught fire in California over the last 2 years
But it is a problem
The search for a lithium battery with low to no flammability issues is well along the path to implementation
These battery storage facilities will be changed out in the future to reduce and eliminate the probability of a fires
It is just a matter of time
The media has long known that sound bites and click bait headlines spreading FUD make much more money than fact-based headlines and stories
But the fact is that the current battery storage facilities are more susceptible to fire than we would like

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I know it's still early, but there has been no mention of arson in any of the local news reports.

 

[Brett]

It could be arson but because the article actually says "notoriously flammable " when describing lithium batteries my bet it's not arson.

Bill

Hey Bill, here's a whole city that goes up in flames !

'

https://allthatsinteresting.com/centralia-pa

 

[HitchHiker71]

I have not kept track of the number of the battery storage facilities that have caught fire in California over the last 2 years
But it is a problem
The search for a lithium battery with low to no flammability issues is well along the path to implementation
These battery storage facilities will be changed out in the future to reduce and eliminate the probability of a fires
It is just a matter of time
The media has long known that sound bites and click bait headlines spreading FUD make much more money than fact-based headlines and stories
But the fact is that the current battery storage facilities are more susceptible to fire than we would like

Agreed - the Tesla Megapack installation at that location only uses LFP batteries (Lithium-Iron-Phosphate), which have almost zero risk of fire/combustion - toward your point. The earlier versions of Megapacks used LI-NMC/LI-NCA batteries though, and I agree - these need to be swapped out for LFP packs - but man - that's expensive after the fact - these megapack installations often involve tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in capital expense. I'm wondering if Tesla could take the LI-NMC/NCA packs back and repurpose them into vehicle packs for example - especially as the fleet ages - and vehicle pack swaps become more common.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Headlines for clickbait purposes always - there's another article that falsely reports that the Tesla Megapack is what caught fire - which is not true for example - but it gets a lot of clicks for sure!

Hmmm I wonder if this false Tesla battery fire gets fact-checked on Twitter...

 

[emeryjre]

Agreed - the Tesla Megapack installation at that location only uses LFP batteries (Lithium-Iron-Phosphate), which have almost zero risk of fire/combustion - toward your point. The earlier versions of Megapacks used LI-NMC/LI-NCA batteries though, and I agree - these need to be swapped out for LFP packs - but man - that's expensive after the fact - these megapack installations often involve tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in capital expense. I'm wondering if Tesla could take the LI-NMC/NCA packs back and repurpose them into vehicle packs for example - especially as the fleet ages - and vehicle pack swaps become more common.

It will have to be done
The cost will not be insignificant by any means
But it will get done
Hopefully recycling or repurposing can help mitigate the costs
Being the early adopter has always been a course of action costing a lot of money
Unless you were an early, early adopter of mining for digital currency

 

[HitchHiker71]

Hmmm I wonder if this false Tesla battery fire gets fact-checked on Twitter...

I'm sensing you may be being facetious - but the serious answer is yes - just one example from someone I happen to follow for Tesla news:

x.com

x.com

Community Notes is real - it's an example of the power of crowdsourcing. I'm reading a book right now that I'd recommend everyone read about what's ongoing all around us: https://www.amazon.com/Revolt-Public-Crisis-Authority-Millennium/dp/B07K6Y6KGZ

The replacement of old hierarchical (legacy news/legacy government/legacy inserthierarchicalsystemnamehere systems) with networked (crowdsourced/internet/open) systems is marching forward whether we agree with it or not. The above book - originally published in 2016 first version - updated second version published in 2024 - predicted what has played out over the past 25 years - and particularly over the past eight years. Worth a read for anyone interested. I'm only 25% through it myself - quite eye opening really.

 

[easyrider]

Headlines for clickbait purposes always - there's another article that falsely reports that the Tesla Megapack is what caught fire - which is not true for example - but it gets a lot of clicks for sure!

Why would anyone burn down a battery storage facility ?

Bill

 

[isisdave]

There's a KOA campground practically across Hwy 1 from the plant, and we camped there last summer. It was cool, foggy, and a little spooky at night -- just about the only place in North America that wasn't 95 degrees in July. The town of Moss Landing is one short main street, but there's a lot of boating activity and Elkhorn Slough, just to the north of the plant, is full of wildlife.