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The January 2025 Moss Landing Power Plant fire destroyed roughly 75 percent of the world’s largest battery energy storage facility, knocked a critical grid asset offline, and exposed the safety risks that come with scaling lithium-ion storage technology faster than fire codes and suppression systems have kept pace. It had no connection to the Los Angeles wildfires occurring simultaneously, despite widespread confusion online.
A massive fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant – home to the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage system – broke out on January 16, 2025 in Monterey County, California. The blaze forced evacuations, generated hazardous smoke plumes, and shut down a facility that played an important role in California’s energy grid.
How Do Lithium-Ion Battery Storage Systems Work?
Lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS) store electrical energy produced by renewable sources like solar and wind for use when demand exceeds generation. The Moss Landing facility, operated by Vistra Energy, had a capacity of approximately 1,200 megawatts – the largest in the world at the time of the fire.
These systems consist of thousands of individual battery modules housed in large structures. The energy stored in them is discharged to the grid during peak demand periods, helping to stabilize supply and reduce reliance on fossil fuel peaker plants.
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How “Thermal Runaway” May Have Accelerated the Fire
Investigators believe the fire was triggered or accelerated by a phenomenon known as thermal runaway. In lithium-ion batteries, thermal runaway occurs when a cell overheats and produces more heat than it can dissipate, causing a chain reaction that can spread rapidly to adjacent cells.
Once thermal runaway begins in a large battery array, it is extremely difficult to stop. The batteries generate their own oxygen as they burn, which means conventional firefighting approaches – cutting off the oxygen supply – are largely ineffective. Firefighters at Moss Landing used massive amounts of water to cool the battery modules and contain the spread.
The fire burned for several days. At its peak, crews from 19 fire agencies were on scene. Evacuation orders were issued for surrounding communities, and air quality alerts were issued for Monterey County due to the toxic smoke produced by the burning battery materials.
Are Lithium-Ion Storage Facilities Safe?
Lithium-ion battery fires are not unique to Moss Landing. Similar incidents have occurred at BESS installations in Arizona, Australia, and South Korea. As these facilities scale up in size – driven by state and federal renewable energy mandates – the fire risk per incident scales up with them.
The Moss Landing facility had experienced smaller fires prior to the January 2025 blaze. California’s Public Utilities Commission and State Fire Marshal had been engaged with Vistra on safety concerns in the months leading up to the fire.
Industry groups and regulators are actively developing updated safety standards for large-scale BESS installations, including requirements for fire suppression systems, setback distances, and community notification protocols.
Did the L.A. Wildfires Have Anything to Do with the Moss Landing Fire?
No. The Moss Landing Power Plant fire and the Los Angeles area wildfires that occurred in January 2025 are entirely separate events. The Moss Landing fire was an industrial facility fire in Monterey County, approximately 300 miles north of Los Angeles. It was not caused by wildfire, did not spread as a wildfire, and has no connection to the wind-driven brush fires that affected communities in the L.A. basin during the same month.
The timing of both events generated some confusion online. They are unrelated.
GPRS Services for Renewable Energy
GPRS provides services to renewable energy developers, utilities, and power transmission and distribution providers working on these projects.
GPRS, the nation’s largest private utility locating company, supports renewable energy and grid infrastructure construction through private utility locating, concrete scanning, 3D laser scanning, video pipe inspection, and existing conditions documentation. Sites like Moss Landing are often former industrial facilities with complex existing underground infrastructure. A professional utility locate before excavation is the only reliable way to identify what is buried, protecting workers and keeping construction on schedule. All findings are stored in SiteMap®, GPRS’ secure infrastructure management platform.
Contact GPRS to schedule a utility locate or request a quote for your energy infrastructure project.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does GPRS support grid expansion and renewable energy infrastructure projects?
GPRS supports grid expansion and renewable energy infrastructure projects through our suite of subsurface damage prevention, existing conditions documentation, and project and facility management services. This includes utility locating, concrete scanning, 3D laser scanning, video pipe inspection, and mapping and modeling services, all of which help ensure that excavation and construction activities are completed safely and accurately.
Does GPRS provide utility locating services for EV charging station construction?
Yes. GPRS provides utility locating and concrete scanning services for EV charging station construction projects. Our SIM-certified Project Managers can locate underground utilities and scan concrete to identify embedded objects before excavation or concrete penetration begins, helping to keep these projects on time, on budget, and safe.
