Safety Standards Boosted at CA Battery Storage Facilities after Fire
Santa Cruz Sentinel, Calif.
(TNS)
SANTA CRUZ — Less than a year after the Moss Landing Power Plant fire, Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill strengthening safety standards for the development of new battery storage facilities across the state.
Senate Bill 283 was authored by state Sen. John Laird and pushes for greater coordination with fire officials during project development and construction phases.
“California must prioritize safety at every step when expanding battery storage to meet its clean energy goals,” Laird, who represents Santa Cruz County and the Moss Landing area in the California Assembly, said in a release. “SB 283 ensures that future battery storage facilities are developed with safety and the community in mind, and that our fire officials are involved in every step along the way. I thank Governor Newsom for signing this bill to protect first responders, local communities, and the integrity of our renewable energy transition.”
The bill was signed by Newsom on Oct. 7, and its provisions will take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
The Moss Landing storage facility, owned by Texas-based energy company Vistra, was the world’s largest of its kind until Jan. 16 when a fire erupted inside the plant and consumed about 55% of the facility’s 100,000 battery modules over the course of five days. The site, which also experienced a flare-up a few days after the original fire, is currently the subject of the largest lithium-ion battery cleanup in the Environmental Protection Agency’s history.
Included within the bill are requirements that battery storage developers engage with local fire authorities prior to submitting an application in order to address facility design, assess potential risks and integrate emergency response plans, such as what was already required by Senate Bill 38 also authored by Laird and passed in 2023.
The new law also calls for a facility safety inspection before battery storage plants officially go online and the owner must cover the cost of inspections. It also directs the state to review the configuration of facilities including limitations on development within combustible buildings, a provision that is meant to prevent another incident similar to Moss Landing.
The bill, which was sponsored by the California Professional Firefighters and the California State Association of Electrical Workers, was introduced with a requirement that facilities adhere to the National Fire Protection Association 855 standards. But these standards, widely recognized as the most robust for battery storage development according to Laird, were adopted in March by the Office of the State Fire Marshal — also with a Jan. 1, 2026, effective date — so the conditions were dropped from Laird’s bill to avoid duplication.
“Senate Bill 283 is a critical step forward in protecting both our firefighters and the communities they serve,” President of California Professional Firefighters Brian Rice said in the release. “By strengthening safety standards for battery storage facilities and ensuring local fire authorities have a seat at the table through the meet-and-confer process, this law puts responsibility where it belongs — on the owners and operators of these facilities — and helps prevent disasters before they start.”
The Moss Landing fire prompted an immediate wave of scrutiny when it comes to battery energy storage projects across the region, particularly for a development that has been proposed at 90 Minto Road near Watsonville. For months, community groups and local advocates have questioned the safety of battery energy storage systems and voiced concerns about health and environmental consequences.
Developers and advocates on the other end of the issue have stressed the importance of battery energy storage to the state’s power grid and clean energy goals. While the Moss Landing plant had many of the batteries arranged in an open-air configuration inside a repurposed building, advocates have pointed to newer storage system standards that group the batteries together in compartmentalized steel containers with fire suppression systems. They also said modern systems use a battery chemistry that is more resistant to thermal runaway.
Santa Cruz County’s Commission on the Environment held a series of three meetings this summer that were devoted entirely to exploring battery energy storage systems from technology, safety and regulatory angles.
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