Smoldering legacy: A toxic fire prompts new safety rules as California’s green-power shift speeds ahead

It’s been 16 months since a massive fire tore through one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities in rural Monterey County, spewing toxic gas into the air as it smoldered for several days, and, even today, cleanup is far from complete.

It will take at least several more months, and possibly another year, before the charred, waterfront power plant owned by Texas-based Vistra Corp. is cleared, Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church said.

The process is slow because it is dangerous, with thousands of batteries yet to be removed and crews working carefully to avoid reigniting a fire. “Of course, quicker would be better, but safety has to be first,” Church said.

The blaze in Moss Landing provoked hostility toward battery projects in California, where state officials are pursuing an aggressive goal of 100% clean energy usage by 2045 to increase the grid’s capacity and combat the catastrophic effects of climate change.

A safe energy transition

Battery energy storage systems hold excess energy generated during the day — by solar panels, for instance — and release it into the power grid during times of high demand, including evening hours. California has invested heavily in battery storage, which, my colleague Hayley Smith reported, grew more than 3,000% from 500 megawatts in 2020 to more than 15,700 megawatts in 2025.

A new bipartisan bill introduced this month in the U.S. House of Representatives aims to keep this transition safe.

The Better Energy Storage and Safety Act would dedicate federal funding of $30 million annually over the next five years toward research and stress testing for the systems.

It was authored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, a Democrat whose Central Coast district includes Moss Landing, and co-led by Rep. Pat Harrigan, a North Carolina Republican.

Despite efforts by the Trump administration to stymie green energy, Panetta said in an interview, “you have to accept the reality of renewables … That’s why we want to ensure that it’s as safe as possible.”

A fast energy transition

The Moss Landing fire has represented the proverbial elephant in the room in the midst of California’s rapid energy transition, Church said.

He has called for more local control over where battery systems are built and been a vocal advocate for more safety regulations, saying the catastrophe in Moss Landing should be learned from, not written off as “an inconvenient accident.”

With proper engineering, lithium-ion battery storage sites pose little risk of catching fire, Shirley Meng, a molecular engineering professor at the University of Chicago and internationally known battery expert, told me last fall. She said safety has improved dramatically in recent years and that the failure rate is about 1 in 10 million for all types of lithium-ion batteries.

California is now speeding review for large-scale renewable energy projects through a new fast-track permitting program that does not require sign-off from county and municipal governments — a fast-track process that Church has criticized.

Last fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new state law — prompted by the Moss Landing accident— that requires battery storage safety standards and requires developers to coordinate closely with local fire departments.

Stacey Shepard, a spokesperson for the California Energy Commission, said in an email that “today’s battery systems are governed by rigorous safety standards,” use improved technology and “are placed in outdoor containers rather than inside buildings,” unlike in Moss Landing site.

The cause of the Moss Landing fire is still under investigation

Firefighters let it burn for days, citing the dangers of dousing lithium-ion battery fires with water, which can cause dangerous chemical reactions.

The blaze ignited inside a former turbine building that contained a 300-megawatt system made up of about 4,500 cabinets, each containing 22 individual battery modules, according to Vistra Corp.

Of the 99,000 individual LG battery modules in the building, about 54,450 burned, according to Vistra. Justin Daily, a spokesman for the company, said in an email that as of May 8, more than 31,000 battery modules had been removed, de-energized and shipped to recycling facilities.

“We are now working to enable safe access to batteries in the damaged portion of the building,” he said.

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On May 22, Disneyland’s Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will include a new mission as well as new destinations such as the gas-like locale of Bespin, seen here in concept art provided by Disney. The tweaks are tied to the film “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”

(Disney Parks)

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Question of the day: Sticker shock: Send us examples of California houses with sticker prices that truly shocked you.

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And finally … the photo of the day

A firefighter pauses while clearing brush in the Sandy fire in Simi Valley.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s photo is from Times photographer Kayla Bartkowski on a hill in Simi Valley near the Sandy fire, one of multiple blazes consuming more than 20,000 acres.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Hailey Branson-Potts, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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