Moss Landing fire: Where does California go from here?

February 7, 2025

Opinion by California State Sen. John Laird

The people of Moss Landing are experiencing what the people of Pajaro and Capitola have experienced before them. Three weeks after the catastrophic fire, news cameras and reporters are slipping away, they must deal with the aftermath while out of the spotlight.

This past weekend, I stopped to see Kim Solano at the Haute Enchilada Restaurant in Moss Landing. She – along with other local restaurants, shops, and bed and breakfasts – shut down when the highway was closed and the area evacuated. While reopened, they have not financially recovered, so please stop for a meal, buy something, or stay overnight.

Where do we go from here?

I have asked for a complete, independent investigation. Scientific studies have come out piecemeal since the fire. The public deserves a complete investigation that is vetted in public.

We need to know how the fire started, what can be done better in the future, and understand the public and ecological health impacts of the fire plume. The California Public Utilities Commission and the County of Monterey along with the relevant state public health agencies are pursuing these investigations.

In 2023, my Senate Bill 38 required safety plans for battery storage plants. It appears that both Vistra and PG&E did not submit these plans directly to Monterey County after the bill became law. They need to do this – and the county needs to advise the public of the adequacy of the plans.

The effects of a changing climate are here. Scientists point out that the intensity of hurricanes and fires – such as the recent ones in Los Angeles – have increased due to the warming climate. The answer is to put less carbon in the air. Moving away from fossil fuels is key to doing that.

With the national government pulling out of the world blueprint for reducing carbon emissions, including the Paris Agreement, California must redouble our efforts toward the goal of zero carbon emissions by 2045, as well the interim goals on the road to 2045 established by Senate Bill 1020 I authored in 2022.

As we move toward more wind and solar power, we are impacted during times when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. Battery storage allows for energy reliability – and less reliance on energy produced by fossil fuels – when it stores extra energy produced during windy, sunny times and returns energy to the grid at times when it’s dark and the wind isn’t blowing.

Even with this storage, California continues to send solar power to Arizona’s grid, as we do not have enough battery storage to store it here.

California battery storage produced 500 megawatts in 2019, growing to 13,300 megawatts now, with the goal of 52,000 megawatts by 2045. In Sept. 2022, when the electrical grid was on the verge of a black out, battery storage put more energy online than Diablo Canyon’s nuclear power during a few key hours – and the power stayed on.

Every energy source has had a disastrous incident – whether it’s Chernobyl with nuclear power, bird strikes with wind power and solar towers, or countless incidents with fossil fuel – including a several day fire in 2003 on the very Moss Landing site that just burned. We recall too the loss of lives in San Bruno due to a natural gas explosion, and of course the recent, alarming fires at Moss Landing related to battery storage.

The transition to safer battery storage was underway before the fire. The original facilities – like some of those at Moss Landing – included batteries housed indoors, use a more volatile configuration of lithium. Newer technology has changed to a less volatile mix with lithium – and with a different physical configuration of batteries in enclosed individual containers that have individual fire suppression systems, and are outside on separate cement slabs.

Think of your smart phone in 2019 and now. In such a short span of time, the smart phone of today performs far faster, with less energy. Similar advancements are being made with battery storage.

Current proposals for new battery storage facilities will utilize newer, much safer components. In Morro Bay for example, we need to consider the appropriateness of that proposed location, however the proposed technology would be newer, safer technology and not the configuration at Moss Landing.

75% of California’s battery storage uses newer, safer technology. 25% is the older technology, such as what burned at Moss Landing. The state should have discussions about the 25% of battery storage facilities that use older technology.

What do we do? Heightened inspection? Safety improvements? Phasing out over time? All of the above? If Vistra’s plant is rebuilt in Moss Landing, it should be with newer, safer technology.

There are no lithium safety standards in California. This is also an issue that extends beyond battery energy storage facilities and includes EV battery servicing, operation, and disposal. I am working with the California Professional Firefighters and IBEW/Electrical Workers on a possible bill to establish safety standards.

In addition, the California Public Utilities Commission is considering an order about battery storage safety on March 13 – including monitoring whether facilities have complied with SB 38.

There are three major energy goals in California –move away from fossil fuels to a greener electrical grid, have safe, reliable, renewable energy sources, and keep the lights on.

Our job in the coming months and years is to have the public at the table as we decide how to meet each of these goals without sacrificing any of them. It is a tall order. The future of our state and planet demands it, and the well-being of our communities deserves it.

Senator John Laird represents California’s Central Coast, and was the former Secretary for Natural Resources.