Moss Landing Battery removal set for September
Briana Mathaw
MOSS LANDING, Calif. (KION-TV) – Eight months after the battery fire at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says cleanup efforts are progressing, though the thousands of damaged lithium-ion batteries remain on site for now.
“No batteries have been removed from the site. As I mentioned earlier, we expect that work to start in September. So batteries have been delinked, which was an initial step to cut down on the risk of further incident.” Kazami Brockman said.
Brockman, the On-Scene Coordinator for EPA Region 9, confirmed that while the formal cleanup agreement with facility operator Vistra was finalized in July, actual battery removal has yet to begin. In the meantime, crews have started stabilizing and partially deconstructing the building to gain safe access to the damaged units.
“The community can expect to see and may have already observed construction personnel, vehicles and equipment, including cranes arriving at the site. Just control and perimeter and community air monitoring measures are in place during all of these activities.” Kazami Brockman said.
Once battery removal begins, officials say they will be neutralized onsite to make them safe for transportation.
“Once the batteries are removed from the building, they will be inspected, treated or de-energized onsite in preparation for offsite transport and disposal.” Kazami Brockman said.
“We’re proceeding and it was first fashioned to address the batteries at higher status charge, presenting a higher risk. Damaged batteries can be unstable. And an emergency response plan was developed by Vistra and reviewed and approved by EPA for this response.” Kazami Brockman said.
According to Vistra, there are currently no plans to bring the Moss 300 battery facility back online until the investigation is complete and cleanup is finished.
“There’s no plans for a restart of Moss 300 facility until, you know, well after cleanup and all those pieces. And then the other, there are other projects on site, I think, as many are aware.” David Yeager said.
Yeager, the Director of Project Development at Vistra, also clarified that other operations at the site are still active.
“We do have a natural gas fuel unit on site that is active and does make power. So there are occasions where you might see steam coming from that asset, but that is not tied to any battery project at all.” David Yeager said.
As for what will happen to the batteries, disposal and recycling plans have not yet been finalized.
“The disposal and recycling facilities have not been finalized. However, we will have a priority on recycling as much as possible. Recycling involves reclaiming materials and metals from the batteries for reuse. And that would be happening offsite. We would be treating batteries onsite to ensure that they are safe for transport.” Kazami Brockman said.
The EPA says the cleanup process is expected to take over a year due to the technical challenges and safety concerns involved. Battery removal is set to begin in September if all goes as scheduled.