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Fire rages at Vistra battery storage facility in Moss Landing

January 17, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

A fire is raging at the Vistra battery storage facility in Moss Landing leading to evacuations and school and road closures in the area.

Shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday, the fire broke out at the 300-megawatt battery storage facility. Vistra evacuated employees and reported the fire. Because of the presence of lithium-ion batteries, firefighters are not engaging the blaze and instead plan to let it burn out.

Approximately 40% of the battery storage facility has burned. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Assemblywoman Dawn Addis said the safety and wellbeing of the community is her number one priority.

“I am deeply concerned and have serious questions about the safety of this battery energy storage plant,” Addis said in a statement. “I will be looking for transparency and accountability for why this happened again at Moss Landing. I am exploring all options for preventing future battery energy storage fires from ever occurring again on the Central Coast.”

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.

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Yet another sad example of how EVs are a scam and Green Energy isn’t green.


If Dawn Addis cares so much about the welfare of the community, why is she aiding and abetting Law Breaking Criminals (Illegal Aliens) with interest free mortgages?


6

Nuclear power is the future fission to fusion. Maybe hydrogen if can be scaled. Natural gas and oil is the present. No need for acres of battery storage. China, India, Indonesia coal is large. China is building 100 coal fired power plants this year. Biomass 0.1 watt/ square meter, …wind 1.0 watt / sq meter, …solar 10.0 watts / sq meter. Low density energy is costly to consumer and environment. Intermittent needs parallel energy source for back up like these dangerous battery installations. Natural gas 1,000 watts/ sq meter and nuclear 2,000 watts / square meter.


4

Was in favor of the MB battery storage plant … ABSOLUTELY NO LONGER!


14

If you live within the fallout zone of Diablo Canyon; you are not covered by insurance in regard to a nuclear disaster. I hope you folks read your policy: fact.


-10

You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.


-10

And sometimes you have to reject a bad idea. The battery storage plant’s populated locale is a dim witted pseudo-environmental stupidity.


7

Dawn Addis doing damage control as she watches her corporate campaign sponsorship dollars go up in flames (pun intended) …. Her “statement” is par for the course for the supermajority, with platitudes and fake concern for the safety of citizens and first responders blah blah blah….


38

Addis, a mediocre at best retail politician.


0

People were told to keep their windows closed and one fire captain said we have a serious situation here… I will stand at the gates of the Morro Bay site to keep those dangerous batteries out of my town…


28

I’m curious, has Diablo Canyon ever released radiation or anything else that have created a health hazard and caused evacuations?

It seems if this fire had occurred in Morro Bay they would have to evacuate large swaths of MB, Cayucos or Los Osos depending on the wind direction.


51

Zero deaths to date have been caused by the battery storage industry. The same cannot be said for nuclear power plants. Though you are right, Diablo has been remarkably safe. Unfortunately, a major earthquake on the Hosgri Fault could quickly change that.


-33

Yeah, because if it doesn’t kill you there’s no harm right Adam? I wonder what the property values will do if the Morro Bay Facility is built?


9

Agreed Adam. This topic is too deep for vague dialogue such as this.


-8

What does Diablo canyon have to do with this?


16

Everything. Your insurance in SLO does Not Cover Loss of property affiliated with Diablo Canyons failure like Fukushima


-9

Vistra stock fell 2% on the news of this fire. Probably a good time to buy since the stock has gone up 400% in the last year and the company will certainly rebound from this. Some may see this and the inability to get their plant built in MB built as doomsday for them, but I doubt it, especially with Elon Musk now on Trump’s team.


Like it or not, battery electric power is the wave of the future. The technology is improving rapidly—recently a new ceramic oxygen-ion battery that is incombustible was introduced at CES in Las Vegas.


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ceramic-battery-could-replace-lithium-190000584.html


-70

The stock is up because the folly is being funded by the taxpayer. The subsidies will end soon and the stock will nosedive.


22

I don’t think so.


https://hub.vistracorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/subsidies.pdf


-11

So Adam Trask, reveal your true position. Are you or are you not in favor of Vistra’s proposal in Morro Bay? Yes or no. No sitting on the fence given the stark reality.


27

Definitely in favor. I’ve made my position quite clear about renewable energy many times over on this blog. I think the plant will generate revenue for the city, but the bottom line is that we need to transition away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible and this is a good way to do it. I don’t think residents will even notice it. And fires like the one at Moss Landing are highly unlikely and either due to human error or possible sabotage, though I have zero evidence for that. If it’s not built here it will be built somewhere else and MB will miss out on both revenue and jobs.


As I noted, battery technology will continue to get more efficient as more of it goes online, just as the internal combustion engines continue to be improved to this very day. A combination of solar, nuclear and battery electric can mitigate the worst effects of climate change (as we attempt to avoid catastrophes like the one we are currently witnessing in LA). Unfortunately I’m not optimistic. Maybe we’ll finally wake up when no matter where we live in California we will not be able to afford home owner’s insurance.


And just so you know, I love Morro Bay and take my dog there 3-4 times a week.


-35

Thanks for clarifying. I respect the honesty.


3

I’m here with you Adam, so are the majority of the informed.


-11

I’ll wait until after the lawsuits before I buy the stock.


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