​This system was on a 3 acre parcel the system was only 24MW the first installment of their first phase that was going to be completed in 2024 measuring 80MW. It was BRAND NEW and it hasn’t been there a month yet.  Residents were evacuated and roads were closed for up to 7.7 miles around the site while the batteries were left to burn out on their own.  Today is day 4 of the batteries still smoldering. 
​

Another BESS fire started 9/27/23 in Queensland, it was being installed and under testing…..

Fears of escalation as fire breaks out at Bouldercombe Battery Project near Rockhampton
Authorities are warning of large volumes of smoke in the area.
Warren Barnsley / Updated 14 hours ago
A fire has broken out at a battery energy storage facility in central Queensland, sparking a warning for nearby residents.
Firefighters have been responding to the blaze at the Bouldercombe Battery Project, near Rockhampton, since being alerted at 7.45pm on Tuesday.
One lithium battery storage unit has caught fire and there are fears others could too.
“There are a large number of batteries on site and there is a possibility the fire may spread to other units, creating a larger hazard,” Queensland police said in a statement early on Wednesday.
“Work is being done to dowse the surrounding batteries and could continue for several days.”
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has warned nearby residents to keep their windows and doors closed.
“Crews are working to bring the fire under control, but large amounts of smoke will impact the area,” QFES said.
“Nearby residents should close their windows and doors, and those suffering from a respiratory condition should keep their medications close by.”
​

Unit burns at TerraGen Battery StorageDavid Ross | on September 19, 2023
By DAVID ROSS
The TerraGen fire burning Monday night.
One of the units at the Terra-Gen battery storage facility in Valley Center at Vesper & VC Road caught fire Monday night and burned for several hours. The fire started shortly after 5 p.m. 
Firefighters from the Valley Center Fire Protection District kept the fire under control. Or rather watched as the built-in fire suppression system within the unit worked. There was some concern that the smoke, which had toxic elements from plastic similar to a house or car fire, posed a threat.
Residents within a quarter mile of the facility were ordered to evacuate and those within half a mile were instructed to “shelter-in-place.” Many people received wireless emergency alerts (WEA) on their cell phones. 
Those who were evacuated were instructed to go the high school temporarily. According to VC-P School Supt. Ron McCowan: “We were called around 545 last night to open the high school as an evacuation center. We opened it up and stayed open to about 8:30 p.m. and we had one person show up who couldn’t get home because the roads were blocked.” McCowan added, “It was our privilege to be able to provide an evacuation center for the community but we were relieved that it was not needed.”

​Just like the Australian battery a storage fire we posted about previously, this article talks about ANOTHER BESS fire that started during their INSTALLATION.
​
A Consumers Energy battery installation in Standish caught fire Monday, April 19, prompting a shelter in place order for about four hours.
The fire began around 3:00 p.m. at the location in the 400 block of Washington St. when a worker noticed sparks coming from a battery container. The order was issued for a half mile radius to the east, north and south due to potentially toxic fumes from the lithium ion batteries.
The fire was contained to only one container. HAZMAT teams were brought in to assess the situation and determined there was no danger to the air or surrounding area. The shelter in place order was lifted around 7:00 p.m. No injuries were reported.
Standish Battery Installation Fire Causes Shelter in Place, No Adverse Conditions Found - WSGW 790 AM & 100.5 FM

This article talks about a Tesla Mega pack fire in Australia. It took over 150 firefighters and 30 firetrucks and 4 days to try to prevent the spread (which they failed to do) and they watched the battery extinguish itself...
"After four days of battling the blaze, the CFA said it had the fire under control" Meaning it extinguished itself....
"The fire happened as the system was under construction and destroyed two of the 212 Tesla Megapack battery energy storage system (BESS) units being installed."
Another scary thing this fire shows, is the existing safety codes for these facilities aren't enought and don't prevent fires from spreading.
All fire experts are guessing about how to prevent, limit propagation, and stop these fires:
"High wind conditions also contributed to the fire’s propagation, despite the units being properly spaced apart as per requirements. The report said UL 9540A burn testing only accounts for wind speeds up to about 12mph, whereas that day the area experienced wind speeds of up to 35mph."
There is no way to prevent these fires and no way to extinguish them- the only hope is to try to prevent the fire from spreading- requiring many firemen and firetrucks days or weeks of spraying 100s of thousands of gallons of water on nearby battery containers- HOPING they won't also catch fire...
This fire that took out two Tesla Megapacks was caused by a leak within the first Megapack’s liquid cooling system caused arcing within the battery modules. Heat then took battery cells into thermal runaway.
So the safety system actually caused the fire...
The fire took 4 days to fully extinguish itself.
However, This system was not near homes, major highways, hospitals or schools. It was isolated.
https://www.usatoday.com/.../tesla-megapack.../5453874001/

The New York Battery Energy Storage fire connected with the solar farm continues to burn. This makes the third BESS fire in the state in a month. This article mentions the source of the fire is the own energy company’s faulty equipment. Now the Governor of New York is issuing an emergency task force to address these BESS fires.

The link above is a database of all documented BESS ( Battery Energy Storage System) fires since 2019. There are 50 large fires in the database. Three of them were in the last month and were LVP Battery fires which are supposedly safer.

Yesterday’s news!! 7/27/23
Another battery energy storage system (BESS) fire, this time connected to a solar farm.

“Solar farm fire in Upstate New York sends possible toxic smoke billowing into surrounding community”

JULY 27, 2023 / 10:52 PM / CBS NEWS
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an advisory Thursday night due to potentially toxic smoke billowing from a battery fire at a solar farm burning near the Canadian border.

CBS affiliate WWNY-TV reports that the fire broke out at about 1 p.m. Eastern time at a solar farm in the Jefferson County town of Lyme, located on Lake Ontario.

In a statement, Hochul said that the "large battery fire" had "caused significant damage and is emitting large amounts of smoke that may pose health risks."

Residents within a mile of the facility were told to shelter in place, WWNY reported. Video footage showed heavy flames and smoke rising hundreds of feet in the air.