On Thursday night, Monterey County officials implemented evacuation protocols due to a fire at a battery storage facility, reportedly the world’s largest, located along the Central Coast. The facility is owned by Vistra Energy.

Vistra Energy, the owner of the Moss Landing Power Plant and the adjacent lithium-ion battery facility situated on the Monterey County coastline, confirmed via email that a fire had ignited in one of their batteries that afternoon. All personnel on the site were promptly evacuated.

Jenny Lyon, the company spokesperson, stated that the origin of the fire is still unknown. An investigation will commence as soon as the fire has been put out.

In addition to the evacuation, the Monterey County Sheriff advised residents in the vicinity to keep their windows shut as a precautionary measure. The California Highway Patrol also enforced a closure of Highway 1 in the area surrounding the plant.

Vistra, based in Texas, completed the latest construction phase of the energy storage facility in 2023. This was part of California’s initiative to strengthen its grid with renewable energy. The facility has a storage capacity of 750 megawatts, which is approximately enough to power around 562,000 households for up to four hours. By 2045, California aims to have 52,000 MW of energy storage, triple its current capacity, to fulfill its energy demands and achieve its net-zero emissions target.

The Moss Landing battery complex owned by Vistra experienced some damage due to a faulty heat detector in 2021. Additionally, in 2022, a minor fire occurred at a neighboring battery plant owned by Pacific Gas & Electric and supplied by Tesla.

Last year, safety concerns led to a ballot measure in Morro Bay, further down the coast. The goal was to prevent Vistra from obtaining local permits to build a battery facility near a power plant in the area. The measure was approved in November, but it is unlikely to halt the project, which is currently undergoing an expedited state permitting process.