Tesla grid battery fire shows young industry’s failures and successes.

The latest fire at California’s Moss Landing battery complex was contained and didn’t cause any injuries, but it still highlights the need for better safety systems at storage facilities.

The biggest grid battery complex in the U.S. is also the most fire-prone.
The latest fire ignited in the wee hours of Tuesday, September 20 at utility PG&E’s Elkhorn plant in the coastal town of Moss Landing, California. The Tesla-supplied battery plant sits at a utility substation right next door to the Moss Landing battery plant, owned by electric generating company Vistra, which suffered two fires of its own in the last year and had to shut down for months.
Monterey County confirmed that last week’s fire affected only one Tesla Megapack enclosure, and it was contained by the evening of the same day.
Nevertheless, the incident locked down a stretch of California’s iconic Highway 1, and triggered warnings to local residents ​“to keep windows closed and turn off ventilation systems” pending testing for hazardous emissions. Local press covered the economic impacts of the shelter-in-place order, and the Santa Cruz Sentinel editorial board called the incident a ​“stark reminder of new technology risks.
To read the rest of the article, click on the button below:

Entire Article