Latest news with #Elkhorn
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
PG&E restarts huge grid battery following Moss Landing fire next door
One of the biggest grid batteries in California has resumed operations following the cataclysmic Moss Landing fire in January. The San Francisco Bay Area's power grid used to draw on two battery storage plants in the quiet seaside town of Moss Landing. Texas-based power company Vistra built the nation's largest standalone grid battery on the grounds of an old gas power plant there, and utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co. built and owns the Elkhorn project next door. A roaring fire engulfed Vistra's historic turbine hall in January, wrecking rows of lithium-ion batteries that delivered 300 megawatts of instantaneous grid power. That site is still in shambles. PG&E's battery plant suffered far less disruption: Hot ash blew over the fenceline from Vistra's property, posing an environmental hazard and potentially clogging batteries' thermal management systems. But after several months of remediation, cleaning, and testing, PG&E was able to flip the switch Sunday to reconnect Elkhorn to the grid. That timing proved fortuitous, as it restored 182.5 megawatts/730 megawatt-hours of storage capacity into the power-hungry Silicon Valley grid corridor right before the region's first major heat wave of the summer. 'The concern was lower in the winter months, with demand lower,' said Dave Gabbard, vice president of power generation at PG&E. 'It will be critical to have assets like Elkhorn available as we get into the peak summer months.' Indeed, California has been building grid batteries at a record pace, to store the state's nation-leading solar generation and deliver it during crucial hours, like after sunset. The tech is displacing some gas-fired power generation in the state. California's battery fleet passed 15.7 gigawatts installed per a May tally, which Gov. Gavin Newsom's office touted as 'an unprecedented milestone.' The governor, a Democrat, did not specify why the 15.7-GW threshold merits particular attention, but it does mean California has added more than 5 GW since it crossed the 10-GW mark a year prior. 'The pace of construction for large-scale energy storage in California is phenomenal, the kind of accomplishment that was beyond our wildest dreams a few years ago,' said Scott Murtishaw, executive director of the California Energy Storage Alliance. The state's battery buildout is plowing ahead. But Vistra's fiery failure sparked deep community concerns about battery safety in California and beyond, as Moss Landing residents were forced to evacuate for several days and plumes of smoke loomed over surrounding estuaries and farmlands. In April, Vistra rescinded an application to build a 600-MW battery in Morro Bay, two hours down the coast from Moss Landing, following significant local resistance that intensified after the January fire. The reset at Elkhorn has rekindled concerns among community leaders who are still grappling with the fallout from the largest-ever battery fire in the U.S., and quite possibly the world. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors had asked to keep both battery plants offline until the Vistra investigation was completed and acted upon. 'Restarting operations before investigations are complete and before stronger emergency protocols are in place is disappointing and deeply troubling,' Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church posted on Facebook after learning of PG&E's plans in early May. Crucially, PG&E's battery layout, completed in 2022, mitigates the hazards that took out the neighboring Vistra plant, which was completed two years earlier. Officials have not yet pinpointed the cause of Vistra's fire, but it became so destructive because it spread through the densely packed rows of batteries in the old turbine hall, igniting more and more fuel as it grew. By contrast, PG&E's Elkhorn plant spans 256 individual Tesla Megapack containers spaced over the property. 'We have a completely different design,' Gabbard said. 'We have compartmentalized our design so that fire propagation won't occur to adjacent units.' That industry-wide preference for separate, containerized systems doesn't eliminate the chance of battery fires, but it does limit the potential severity. One container might burn, but the fire can't reach all the other batteries. A fire could knock a facility offline temporarily, but it would only eliminate a small percentage of its capacity, Murtishaw said. That stands in contrast to Moss Landing's failure, or the all-or-nothing issues that can occur when a gas-burning turbine malfunctions. 'The technology and standards have changed considerably since the first big batteries,' like Vistra's, Murtishaw said. 'Facilities coming online now are being constructed with newer technologies meeting newer standards. Risk of runaway incidents has decreased dramatically relative to the amount of storage being deployed.' That compartmentalization strategy worked out when Elkhorn suffered its own battery fire in 2022 — the result of water seeping into a unit through an improperly installed roof, Gabbard said. The single unit burned in a contained fashion and did not spread to any other batteries. PG&E restarted the facility three months later, after implementing recommendations from an independent investigation into the cause. Since that incident, PG&E installed air quality monitoring onsite, and heat-sensing cameras that can automatically disconnect the site from the broader grid if they detect fire, Gabbard said. It also upgraded the battery enclosures to automatically discharge stored energy if abnormal behavior is detected. PG&E additionally updated its emergency action plan and instituted annual exercises with the North County Fire Protection District. When Vistra's plant burned up in January, the Elkhorn cameras spotted it and automatically severed the connection to the grid, halting the flow of high-voltage power out of the site. PG&E also made the air quality data available to emergency response teams. The utility then kept Elkhorn offline for the subsequent months to allow for environmental remediation of the soot to keep it out of local waterways, Gabbard said. Workers also cleaned the Megapacks 'outside and inside,' he noted. The main concern was that the ash could have intruded into the systems that cool batteries during operations. Staff pressure-washed all those components and tested their functionality to get the site ready for operations. Another 10 gigawatts of storage are already under contract for California's regulated utilities and community choice aggregators over the next four years, Murtishaw said. That would put the state over 25 gigawatts, well on its way to the current goal of 52 gigawatts by 2045, stemming from the state's clean energy law SB 100. To achieve that goal, the Moss Landing calamity needs to remain an outlier event. There's good reason to believe that will be the case. For one thing, the industry has all but abandoned Vistra's strategy of packing huge amounts of batteries into a single building. California now has 214 grid-scale batteries, and only about 10 of them reside in a building, Murtishaw noted. Those are subject to inspection by the California Public Utilities Commission under a recently expanded authority, he added; in the meantime, owners have stepped up safety measures in response to the Moss Landing news. Small-scale batteries in homes and businesses also count for California's top-line storage goal. They depend on the same core battery technologies as the large-scale storage projects, but as mass-produced consumer items, they go through a different gauntlet of tests before they reach customers. 'The home batteries are tested inside and out, up and down — they undergo rigorous safety testing and certification to standards,' said Brad Heavner, executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association, which advocates for rooftop solar and battery installers. In the state Legislature, Sen. John Laird, a Democrat from the Moss Landing area, introduced a bill in March to systematize coordination between battery owners and local emergency responders, and to fix a timing mismatch so California's fire codes match the latest standards set by the National Fire Protection Association. Murtishaw said the California Energy Storage Alliance supports the measure, which passed out of the Senate last week.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump claims he can seize any person off street and lock them in foreign prison
Deporting migrant criminals was in part what President Donald Trump was elected to do. But he must do this within the bounds of American law. The administration argues that each Venezuelan was carefully vetted for gang affiliation. The alleged gang members were deported without a hearing in an immigration court, much less a criminal conviction. Trump claims the migrants weren't entitled to due process because he invoked the Alien Enemies Act. This act can only be invoked when there has been a declaration of war. Many families have said innocent relatives were swept up in a cross country dragnet who had done nothing to warrant being locked in a brutal foreign prison. Trump argues that he alone gets to decide what counts as an invasion and who is an enemy alien. Trump is asserting he has the authority to seize any person off the street and lock them up in a foreign prison. Letters: Ukraine minerals deal shameful. Russia is the nation that started war. Opinion: Backlash to Musk isn't imagined. When they slash Medicaid it will be worse. This is a rejection of the 'rule of law,' which is the bedrock of our Constitution. When a federal judge ordered the deportations paused because of due process issues, the planes continued on to El Salvador. The possible miscarriage of justice is now front and center. A court order can be appealed, but it must be obeyed. If Trump violated that order, we no longer have a democracy but a government that operates at the whims of one person. Jerry Hanson, Elkhorn Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state: Please include your name, street address and daytime phone. Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter. Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person. We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions. We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters. Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months. All letters are subject to editing. Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@ or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump deportations reject rule of law, basis of constitution | Letters
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mote Marine Laboratory's Coral Gene Bank works to preserve coral species
The Brief Mote Marine Laboratory Coral Gene Bank is working to preserve coral species as they face threats from disease and warmer water temperatures. . Scientists have been able to save coral like Elkhorn and Staghorn. Officials say the Coral Gene Bank is one of the few organizations working to save coral species, which is important for conservation. SARASOTA, Fla. - When you step through the doors of Mote Marine Laboratory's International Coral Gene Bank, you're a witness to lifesaving underwater work. "Mote's International Coral Gene Bank is a Noah's Ark for coral species preservation," said Dr. Erinn Muller, the director of the gene bank. "We are one of the few organizations around the world that is doing this. It's such an important infrastructure we can utilize for conservation," Muller said. The backstory During the unprecedented 2023 coral bleaching event, scientists with the gene bank were able to save the last known species of coral in the Dry Tortugas. READ: Alligator attack: 911 call reveals gator bit woman, snatched life vest as group kayaked in Polk County "Some of the most important reef-building species, like the Elkhorn coral and the Staghorn coral, unfortunately, are very few and far between on the reef. Because of places like Mote's Gene Bank, we have all the genotypes preserved," said Muller. Working with NOAA and the Department of Interior, the gene bank has branched out to deep-water aqua corals were harmed in the Gulf following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. READ: Sarasota illegal gambling bust: 5 arrested, nearly 60 illicit slot machines seized "This is a way to ensure all the species of coral in Florida are preserved and that their diversity is preserved so we can restore the reef in years to come," said Muller. Dig deeper To ensure their future, the gene bank uses technology called Cryopreservation to freeze coral sperm and create a genetic 'time capsule.' "We will be focused on sexual propagation on these corals, creating thousands and thousands of babies so we can pump into the pipeline," Muller said. Each coral saved and every one produced gives hope for the future of the Florida reef system. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "This infrastructure and the people here really give me hope so we can recover Florida's coral reef in our lifetime," said Muller. The Source FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon collected the information in this story. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
