Front Page  »  

Battery storage fire contaminated soils with heavy metals

January 29, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

Following the the battery storage fire at Moss Landing, scientists found unusually high concentrates of heavy metals in the marsh soils at Elkhorn Slough Reserve, according to a press release.

For years, research scientists at San José State University’s Moss Landing Marine  Laboratories have monitored marsh soil properties as part of a program for the Elkhorn Slough estuary.

Soil tests performed following the fire showed a dramatic increase in nickel, manganese and cobalt, was found. Scientists studied soils in an approximately two-miles radius of the Vistra battery storage facility.

On Jan. 16, a fire raged at the Vistra lithium-ion battery storage facility in Moss Landing leading to evacuations and school and road closures in the area.

Vistra has plans to construct and operate a 600-megawatt battery storage facility in Morro Bay. However, mutiple residents have voiced concerns the facility will endanger the public while negatively impacting tourism and the fishing industry.

In addition, a 100 megawatt battery storage facility is slated to open next month in Nipomo. Caballero Energy Storage plans to store energy in lithium-ion batteries.

 


Loading...
Subjects:     
Related:


4 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Thank goodness was the clean oil burning plant in morro bay never spit out anything toxic for decades…


-1

True, but in the later years the MB plant burned natural gas.


2

SLAYER!!! Oops. Wrong kind of heavy metal.


4

Certainly, this issue has been addressed in the EIR for the projects. If not, we are back to square one to fund another EIR that deals with consequences. So much for that group is getting people to subscribe to that cheaper environmentally sensitive electricity. The cost has already gone off the chart for a long time.


12