PG&E plans to restart its Moss Landing battery facility by June 1

MOSS LANDING PG E has informed Monterey County it plans on reactivating its Elkhorn Battery Storage Facility in Moss Landing by June after turning it off in January in response to a fire at the nearby Vistra battery plant In a letter addressed to Monterey County Board of Supervisors Chair Chris Lopez dated May PG E detailed the attempts it has taken to improve safety measures at its battery facility in preparation to return it to organization Related Articles Feds Man pleads guilty to bombing PG E transformers in South San Jose Lynch California may need a revolt against its utility commission PG E monthly electric bills are lower than last year but changes loom California Democrats take aim at renter late fees power bills with affordability package California Democrats will try again to slash high power bills The Elkhorn Facility as constructed allows for efficient storage and use of power PG E stated in the message As summer approaches it helps strengthen the reliability of the California power grid and protects PG E s customers from power limitations and related impacts Accordingly PG E believes it is appropriate to return Elkhorn to amenity by June to aid grid reliability and that it is safe to do so In a press release Monterey County bureaucrats expressed concern over the plans to restart the battery facility and stated that a required urgency action plan in compliance with SB has not been finalized and remains under review by the county and other agencies The County of Monterey remains committed to general safety environmental protection and full regulatory compliance Monterey County functionaries wrote The County has reached out to and offered to work closely with all operators to ensure Urgency Action Plans adequately provide for the safety of the surrounding communities and the atmosphere The press release continued At this time however the County feels it is prudent to encourage PG E to delay reactivation and continue to engage in additional open transparent dialogue with County executives first responders and the residents we collectively serve PG E stated in the letter that it has performed extensive inspection and clean-up at its Elkhorn Battery Storage Facility including removal and proper disposal of ash particulate matter management of water runoff from heavy rains over the winter and continual air quality monitoring to asses any probable impacts This came after PG E coordinated with the Monterey County Occurrence Command to inspect the battery facility and review air quality records to confirm it was safe for personnel to return to the site On Sept a single Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at PG E s battery facility causing personnel to close Highway in the area as a precaution The fire was extinguished and did not spread into adjacent megapacks or equipment and PG E stated it continued to safely monitor the site until there was no pitfall of subsequent flare ups In the letter to Monterey County PG E stated that a subsequent analysis by Tesla determined that the happening was caused by water ingress into the megapack due to the improper installation of deflagration vent shield panels Corrections were made to all megapacks at the facility and an air dispersion model was created for the site In consultation with Environmental Protection Agency personnel PG E also designed and installed a continuous air monitoring system that was commissioned in early PG E stated in the letter that it conducted training with firefighters updated its crisis action plan and created an circumstance management squad that was certified by the Federal Urgency Management Agency to enhance its crisis response capabilities for the Elkhorn site Although the Jan fire occurred at the Vistra Moss Landing battery facility the above-mentioned measures were undertaken to safeguard the PG E Elkhorn Facility and the surrounding natural atmosphere PG E believes this was the appropriate response as a responsible member of the Moss Landing district PG E wrote Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church whose district includes the two battery plants wrote in a social media post that PG E is a populace utility regulated by the State of California As such Monterey County does not have the authority to prevent or limit the facility s return to operation Church wrote that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors demanded PG E and Vistra in January to not restart the battery facilities until the causes of the fires had been determined and addressed He stated that the California Population Utilities Commission and Vistra are conducting investigations into the cause of the Jan fire but to this date neither has issued findings regarding the cause I had hoped that PG E would take a more transparent and collaborative approach in addressing the concerns of our surrounding communities which are still grappling with the fallout of the largest BESS battery vigor storage system fire in history Church wrote Restarting operations before investigations are complete and before stronger urgency protocols are in place is disappointing and deeply troubling Our residents deserve to feel safe and our communities must have a stronger voice in decisions that affect their well-being PG amp E s -megawatt Tesla Megapack battery in June Tess Kenny Monterey Herald