Gov. Newsom signs bill prompted by Moss Landing battery storage incidents

By Chinua Achebe On Oct 15, 2023

MOSS LANDING – Legislation that was created in response to fire breaking out in 2022 at the Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage System facility at Moss Landing was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend.

Senate Bill 38, authored by State Senator John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, requires battery storage facilities to establish safety and communication protocols.

“I introduced SB38 with my one coauthor, Assembly member (Dawn) Adddis (D-Morro Bay), who was supportive, that basically said ‘battery energy storage facilities located in the state of California and subject to specified safety requirements, have to have an emergency response plan, an emergency action plan, that covers the premises of the battery energy storage facility,’ ” said Laird at a battery energy storage town hall in late September. “Further, I took amendments that said those plans have to be presented to the city and/or county in which that battery energy storage facility is operated or constructed. And it was my goal to have there be a statutory requirement to do safety looking outward that involves the community in the discussion before it is ever an issue.”

Both State Senator Laird’s District 17, and Assembly member Addis’ District 30, include Moss Landing, where battery energy storage exists, and Morro Bay, where battery energy storage is proposed for the Morro Bay power plant. The question of whether or not to allow battery energy storage in Morro Bay will be on the 2024 ballot.

“Battery storage done right is critical to California’s transition to renewable energy sources,” said Assembly member Addis in the release. “To meet the challenge of combating climate change, we must be thoughtful in ensuring the implementation of new technologies is done safely.”

Battery energy storage operations began at the Moss Landing site in late 2020. Today Moss Landing is home to two lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, one run by Vistra Corp Energy Company using LG batteries and the other run by Pacific Gas and Electric using Tesla batteries.

Vistra had incidents that occurred at its battery energy storage system Sept. 4, 2021 and Feb. 13, 2022. Pacific Gas and Electric/Tesla, also known as Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage System, had an incident Sept. 20, 2022.

Both Vistra incidents were caused by water leak events from its mitigation system. This led to grounding, arcing and localized smoke.

But during the PG&E Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage System incident, a shelter-in-place order was issued and Highway 1 closed in both directions in a joint decision with first responders and those on site that day. According to officials, it was done in an abundance of caution and safety and lifted only after air sampling and the risk to the community was assessed.

“Increasing the state’s battery storage is essential to reaching our clean energy goals,” said Senator Laird in a press release, “but we also have to ensure that these facilities have safety systems in place to protect the health and well-being of workers and surrounding communities.”

Senate Bill 38 requires battery storage facilities to develop an emergency response plan, in close coordination with local emergency response agencies, to establish a notification and communication procedure, and consider potential off-site impacts to the surrounding community and environment. Plans will be submitted to the county and city where the facility is located.

Addis

At the Moss Landing Battery Energy Storage System town hall in September Addis said she sees where California, the state legislature, the Governor and the industry is going and that is in a direction of historic investment in climate action, environmentally-safe lithium production, more battery energy storage projects and other kinds of renewable projects.

“But what that says to me is that we need historic effort in making sure these projects are safe, because our communities have to feel that when they’re bearing the responsibility of climate action, they are also being taken care of,” said Addis.

Laird said he thanks Gov. Newsom for signing this important legislation that has statewide benefits for the future of battery storage, as it ensures California can continue responsibly transitioning to renewable energy while keeping the lights on and residents safe.

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