Latest news with #TeslaMegapacks
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
PG&E tried to restart a battery plant over Monterey County officials' objections. It lasted less than a day
When a massive fire ignited in January at one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities, the neighbors demanded answers. They wanted to know what started the fire that smoldered for days, spewing toxic gas into the air and prompting evacuation warnings for 1,500 people. Nearly five months later and with the fire's cause still unknown, Pacific Gas & Electric began reopening an adjacent battery site on Sunday, despite objections from local officials. But the restart — which the utility company said was needed in order to meet summer energy demands — was called off almost as soon as it began. On Sunday, workers who 'began methodically returning the batteries to service' discovered 'a clamp failure and coolant leak' in a Tesla Megapack battery unit on site, PG&E spokesman Paul Doherty said in a statement Monday. 'Out of an abundance of caution we are deferring the facility's return to service until a later date,' Doherty said. The situation in Moss Landing highlights some of the underlying tensions of California becoming more reliant upon renewable energy, electric vehicles and battery-powered devices. State officials have aggressively pushed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by switching to clean energy sources. But the Vistra blaze has prompted calls for additional safety regulations around battery storage — as well as more local control over where storage sites are located. The Elkhorn facility — which is owned by PG&E and maintained by both the utility company and Tesla — is one of two adjacent battery energy storage systems at the Moss Landing power complex near Monterey Bay. The other is owned by Texas-based Vistra Corp. The batteries store excess energy generated during the day and release it into the power grid during times of high demand, including evening hours. Both facilities have been offline since Jan. 16, when a Vistra-owned building containing 99,000 LG battery modules caught fire. The Elkhorn site includes 256 stationary Tesla Megapacks — essentially shipping container-sized units filled with battery modules. The facility did not burn but automatically shut down when its safety equipment detected the fire in the Vistra building. PG&E announced last month that it planned to restart the Elkhorn facility by June 1 because, during the summer, 'that power is necessary to effectively manage the demands of the California power grid.' Tesla and the utility company, two PG&E vice presidents wrote in a letter to the county supervisors, 'performed extensive inspection and clean-up' at the Elkhorn site. After the discovery of problems at the Elkhorn facility Sunday, Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church, whose district includes Moss Landing, called it 'a good sign' that PG&E quickly paused the restart. But, he said, he still wants the utility company to wait until the fire investigations are complete to try again. 'That PG&E encountered problems as they recharged their batteries points out the volatility of this technology,' Church told The Times in an email Monday night. In a survey of nearby residents conducted by the Monterey and Santa Cruz county health departments, 83% of respondents said they experienced at least one symptom — most commonly headaches, sore throats and coughing — shortly after the fire. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they had trouble breathing, and 39% reported having a metallic taste in their mouth. The survey, conducted in February and March, was completed by 1,539 people who lived or worked in the region at the time of the fire. The results were released Monday. Jim says, 'Always tell the truth and you never have to remember what you said.'Lisa says, ''Things always look better in the morning.' My dad was a realistic pessimist so this was solid advice coming from him and, over the years, it's proved to be true in my own life.' Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Today's great photo is from Times photographer Gina Ferazzi at a Riverside track field with Abi, a transgender high school athlete who navigates a fight she never asked for. Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writerKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
India Today
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- India Today
Elon Musk says he might merge Tesla and xAI
Elon Musk has said that a potential merger between his electric car company, Tesla and AI startup, xAI is not out of the question. Speaking to CNBC's David Faber on Tuesday, Musk addressed the idea of combining the two companies. 'It's not something I'm currently thinking about,' Musk said, but added that 'obviously it would require Tesla shareholders support.' While his comments kind of signal that there are no immediate plans, the remark has sparked fresh debate around Musk's growing influence in both the automotive and AI the unaware, Elon Musk launched xAI in 2023 as his startup AI venture, which now owns the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Since its formation, the company has grown rapidly and is already investing heavily in computing power. xAI has installed more than 200,000 GPUs at its Colossus facility in Memphis, Tennessee, and Musk revealed plans for an even larger data centre nearby, with a goal of housing 1 million GPUs.'A few years ago, I made a very obvious prediction, which is that the limitation on AI will be chips,' Musk said during the interview. He also added that both Tesla and xAI will continue to source chips from Nvidia, AMD, and potentially other manufacturers. Interestingly, Musk had previously instructed Nvidia to prioritise xAI's chip orders over Tesla's. Yet, both companies still maintain close business ties. According to recent filings, xAI spent around $191 million (approximately Rs 1,635 crores) in 2024 and another $36.8 million through February 2025 on Tesla Megapacks — large-scale energy storage systems developed by the EV city officials in Memphis welcomed the Colossus facility, calling it a step towards making the region a high-tech hub, local communities have raised concerns about the environmental impact. xAI has relied on natural gas-burning turbines to power the facility, which emit nitrogen oxides, pollutants linked to respiratory problems. Environmental advocates claim the company may have breached the Clean Air Act by using the turbines without proper also warned that power supply could soon become the biggest hurdle in AI development. 'I think the limitation will move from chips to electrical equipment, and then there will be a fundamental electricity generation shortage,' he said, predicting this could happen as soon as on the global race in AI, Musk noted that while China is currently ahead in power generation investment, the US still leads in innovation. 'To have breakthrough innovation you have to question authority,' he In
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PG&E plans to reopen lithium battery plant near Monterey County site burned in toxic fire
Four months after a massive fire ignited in Monterey County at one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities, Pacific Gas & Electric said it intends to reactivate an adjacent battery site by June to meet summer energy demands. The plan comes over the objections of county officials who requested that both facilities remain offline until the cause of the January fire in rural Moss Landing is determined. "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 energy storage system] fire in history," Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church wrote on Facebook on May 8. "Restarting operations before investigations are complete and before stronger emergency protocols are in place is disappointing and deeply troubling," he said. The PG&E facility is one of two battery energy storage systems at the Moss Landing power complex near Monterey Bay. The other is owned by Texas-based Vistra Corp. The batteries store excess energy generated during the day and release it into the power grid during times of high demand, including evening hours. Both facilities have been offline since Jan. 16, when a Vistra-owned building containing 99,000 LG battery modules caught fire, spewing toxic gases into the air and prompting the evacuation of some 1,500 people. The adjacent Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage Facility — which is owned by PG&E and maintained by both the utility company and Tesla — did not burn. But it automatically shut down when its safety equipment detected the fire in the Vistra building. The Elkhorn energy storage facility includes 256 stationary Tesla Megapacks — essentially shipping container-sized units filled with battery modules. The Megapacks, according to PG&E, stand on 33 concrete slaps at the Elkhorn facility. In a May 7 letter to Chris Lopez, chairman of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, PG&E vice presidents Dave Gabbard and Teresa Alvarado said "Tesla and PG&E have performed extensive inspection and clean-up" at the Elkhorn Facility and intend to restart it by June 1. After the fire, each of the Megapacks was disassembled and vacuum-cleaned, and environmental monitoring was conducted on and around the site, Gabbard and Alvarado wrote. "The Elkhorn Facility, as constructed, allows for efficient storage and use of power," they wrote. "As summer approaches, that power is necessary to effectively manage the demands of the California power grid and to protect PG&E's customers from power limitations and related impacts." A PG&E statement provided to The Times said: "We understand that the safety and well-being of our community is of utmost importance." The battery facility, the statement reads, provides "cost savings for electric customers" and helps "support the state's decarbonization goals." In his May 8 Facebook post, Church, whose district includes Moss Landing, wrote that the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 22 sent a letter to PG&E and Vistra requesting that their facilities not return to operation until 'the cause of the Vistra fire, as well as a previous fire at the PG&E battery storage facility, are determined and appropriately addressed.' Read more: 'Horrifying' fire at California lithium battery plant sparks calls for new clean energy rules That letter, he wrote, also requested that both companies develop "robust emergency response plans — based on a 'catastrophic worst-case scenario' involving full facility conflagration" for the county and other relevant agencies to review. Although emergency response plans are required by law, he added, existing state standards "are limited in scope and do not provide the level of detail or realism" that county officials needed to ensure public safety. "In previous discussions, PG&E indicated that a return to service would not occur until much later this year or beyond," Church wrote. County officials have "expressed concern" about the return to service and have reached out to facility operators to ensure emergency plans "adequately provide for the safety of the surrounding communities and the environment," Nick Pasculli, a Monterey County spokesman, said in a statement provided Thursday. "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 officials, first responders, and the residents we collectively serve," the statement reads. According to a Vistra website detailing the aftermath of the fire, an internal investigation is ongoing, and the cause of the blaze "remains unknown." A California Public Utilities Commission investigation into the blaze also is ongoing, Terrie Prosper, a spokesperson for the regulatory agency, told The Times. Vistra's battery energy storage system stands on the old site of the Moss Landing Power Plant, a gas-powered facility — originally built and operated by PG&E — whose twin smokestacks have towered over the region since 1950. Vistra acquired the plant in 2018 and demolished it to make way for the battery facilities, leaving the iconic smokestacks behind. In a February statement, PG&E noted that the Vistra facilities are 'located adjacent to — but walled off and separate from — PG&E's Moss Landing electric substation." In September 2022, a fire ignited in a single Tesla Megapack at PG&E's Elkhorn facility, five months after the battery energy storage system came online. The blaze, monitored by first responders, was allowed to burn itself out and had visible flames for about six hours, according to an investigation report by Energy Safety Response Group, an independent consulting firm. PG&E, in its letter this month to the county, said the cause of that fire was water that had entered the Megapack "due to the improper installation of deflagration vent shield panels." Tesla made fixes to all 256 Megapacks after the blaze, the utility company wrote. The longer, more destructive Vistra fire this year cast a pall over the clean energy industry in California, which in recent years has become more reliant upon renewable energy, electric vehicles and other battery-powered devices as state officials push to dramatically reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The Vistra blaze prompted calls for additional safety regulations around battery storage, as well as more local control over where storage sites are located. Firefighters allowed the Vistra blaze to burn itself out, citing the dangers of dousing lithium-ion battery fires with water, which can cause dangerous chemical reactions. The fire, contained to a single building, smoldered for several days in mid-January. Read more: 'Extremely disturbing': High levels of heavy metals at Monterey estuary after lithium battery site fire In late January, scientists at San José State University recorded a dramatic increase in nickel, manganese and cobalt — materials used in lithium-ion batteries — in soil samples at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve, a nearby estuary that is home to several endangered species. The damaged Vistra building — filled with both burned and unaffected lithium-ion batteries — remained volatile. On Feb. 18, the fire reignited and burned for several hours. Vistra wrote on its website that "additional instances of smoke and flare-ups are a possibility given the nature of this situation and the damage to the batteries." "Since the January 16 fire, Vistra has brought in a private professional fire brigade that is onsite 24/7 to monitor the Moss 300 building," the company wrote. Read more: Residents sue energy companies after massive toxic battery fire at Moss Landing That structure, a former turbine building, contained a 300-megawatt system made up of about 4,500 cabinets, with each containing 22 individual battery modules, Meranda Cohn, a Vistra spokesperson, told The Times in an email. Of the 99,000 individual battery modules in the building, she said, about 54,450 burned. "Demolition on the Moss 300 building will begin once all batteries have been safely removed and discharged, and all debris (concrete, steel, piping) has been removed from the site," Cohn wrote. In February, four residents who live near the facility sued Vistra, PG&E and LG Energy Solution, accusing the companies of failing to maintain adequate fire safety systems. They alleged that they were exposed to toxic smoke emissions that caused nosebleeds, headaches, respiratory problems and other health issues. Environmental advocate Erin Brockovich is working with law firm Singleton Schreiber on the suit. Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
PG&E plans to reopen lithium battery plant near Monterey County site burned in toxic fire
Four months after a massive fire ignited in Monterey County at one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities, Pacific Gas & Electric said it intends to reactivate an adjacent battery site by June to meet summer energy demands. The plan comes over the objections of county officials who requested that both facilities remain offline until the cause of the January fire in rural Moss Landing is determined. '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 energy storage system] fire in history,' Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church wrote on Facebook on May 8. 'Restarting operations before investigations are complete and before stronger emergency protocols are in place is disappointing and deeply troubling,' he said. The PG&E facility is one of two battery energy storage systems at the Moss Landing power complex near Monterey Bay. The other is owned by Texas-based Vistra Corp. The batteries store excess energy generated during the day and release it into the power grid during times of high demand, including evening hours. Both facilities have been offline since Jan. 16, when a Vistra-owned building containing 99,000 LG battery modules caught fire, spewing toxic gases into the air and prompting the evacuation of some 1,500 people. The adjacent Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage Facility — which is owned by PG&E and maintained by both the utility company and Tesla — did not burn. But it automatically shut down when its safety equipment detected the fire in the Vistra building. The Elkhorn energy storage facility includes 256 stationary Tesla Megapacks — essentially shipping container-sized units filled with battery modules. The Megapacks, according to PG&E, stand on 33 concrete slaps at the Elkhorn facility. In a May 7 letter to Chris Lopez, chairman of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, PG&E vice presidents Dave Gabbard and Teresa Alvarado said 'Tesla and PG&E have performed extensive inspection and clean-up' at the Elkhorn Facility and intend to restart it by June 1. After the fire, each of the Megapacks was disassembled and vacuum-cleaned, and environmental monitoring was conducted on and around the site, Gabbard and Alvarado wrote. 'The Elkhorn Facility, as constructed, allows for efficient storage and use of power,' they wrote. 'As summer approaches, that power is necessary to effectively manage the demands of the California power grid and to protect PG&E's customers from power limitations and related impacts.' A PG&E statement provided to The Times said: 'We understand that the safety and well-being of our community is of utmost importance.' The battery facility, the statement reads, provides 'cost savings for electric customers' and helps 'support the state's decarbonization goals.' In his May 8 Facebook post, Church, whose district includes Moss Landing, wrote that the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 22 sent a letter to PG&E and Vistra requesting that their facilities not return to operation until 'the cause of the Vistra fire, as well as a previous fire at the PG&E battery storage facility, are determined and appropriately addressed.' That letter, he wrote, also requested that both companies develop 'robust emergency response plans — based on a 'catastrophic worst-case scenario' involving full facility conflagration' for the county and other relevant agencies to review. Although emergency response plans are required by law, he added, existing state standards 'are limited in scope and do not provide the level of detail or realism' that county officials needed to ensure public safety. 'In previous discussions, PG&E indicated that a return to service would not occur until much later this year or beyond,' Church wrote. County officials have 'expressed concern' about the return to service and have reached out to facility operators to ensure emergency plans 'adequately provide for the safety of the surrounding communities and the environment,' Nick Pasculli, a Monterey County spokesman, said in a statement provided Thursday. '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 officials, first responders, and the residents we collectively serve,' the statement reads. According to a Vistra website detailing the aftermath of the fire, an internal investigation is ongoing, and the cause of the blaze 'remains unknown.' A California Public Utilities Commission investigation into the blaze also is ongoing, Terrie Prosper, a spokesperson for the regulatory agency, told The Times. Vistra's battery energy storage system stands on the old site of the Moss Landing Power Plant, a gas-powered facility — originally built and operated by PG&E — whose twin smokestacks have towered over the region since 1950. Vistra acquired the plant in 2018 and demolished it to make way for the battery facilities, leaving the iconic smokestacks behind. In a February statement, PG&E noted that the Vistra facilities are 'located adjacent to — but walled off and separate from — PG&E's Moss Landing electric substation.' In September 2022, a fire ignited in a single Tesla Megapack at PG&E's Elkhorn facility, five months after the battery energy storage system came online. The blaze, monitored by first responders, was allowed to burn itself out and had visible flames for about six hours, according to an investigation report by Energy Safety Response Group, an independent consulting firm. PG&E, in its letter this month to the county, said the cause of that fire was water that had entered the Megapack 'due to the improper installation of deflagration vent shield panels.' Tesla made fixes to all 256 Megapacks after the blaze, the utility company wrote. The longer, more destructive Vistra fire this year cast a pall over the clean energy industry in California, which in recent years has become more reliant upon renewable energy, electric vehicles and other battery-powered devices as state officials push to dramatically reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The Vistra blaze prompted calls for additional safety regulations around battery storage, as well as more local control over where storage sites are located. Firefighters allowed the Vistra blaze to burn itself out, citing the dangers of dousing lithium-ion battery fires with water, which can cause dangerous chemical reactions. The fire, contained to a single building, smoldered for several days in mid-January. In late January, scientists at San José State University recorded a dramatic increase in nickel, manganese and cobalt — materials used in lithium-ion batteries — in soil samples at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve, a nearby estuary that is home to several endangered species. The damaged Vistra building — filled with both burned and unaffected lithium-ion batteries — remained volatile. On Feb. 18, the fire reignited and burned for several hours. Vistra wrote on its website that 'additional instances of smoke and flare-ups are a possibility given the nature of this situation and the damage to the batteries.' 'Since the January 16 fire, Vistra has brought in a private professional fire brigade that is onsite 24/7 to monitor the Moss 300 building,' the company wrote. That structure, a former turbine building, contained a 300-megawatt system made up of about 4,500 cabinets, with each containing 22 individual battery modules, Meranda Cohn, a Vistra spokesperson, told The Times in an email. Of the 99,000 individual battery modules in the building, she said, about 54,450 burned. 'Demolition on the Moss 300 building will begin once all batteries have been safely removed and discharged, and all debris (concrete, steel, piping) has been removed from the site,' Cohn wrote. In February, four residents who live near the facility sued Vistra, PG&E and LG Energy Solution, accusing the companies of failing to maintain adequate fire safety systems. They alleged that they were exposed to toxic smoke emissions that caused nosebleeds, headaches, respiratory problems and other health issues. Environmental advocate Erin Brockovich is working with law firm Singleton Schreiber on the suit. Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
CBS News
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Brooklyn residents continue battle against lithium-ion battery energy storage systems
Tensions are sparking in southern Brooklyn as residents learn of lithium-ion battery energy storage systems moving into vacant storefronts and lots along industrial corridors, many just steps from residential homes. Opponents point to a massive lithium-ion battery fire at a facility in California in January that smoldered for days and led to the evacuation of hundreds of residents as an example of what they fear. News reports say the blaze released toxic gases and scattered heavy metals over the area, leading homeowners to file a lawsuit against multiple energy companies. The facilities coming to New York City are different – they're mostly outdoors, much smaller and need to meet strict regulations – but that's not much consolation for many residents. A new facility of 6 Tesla Megapacks is powering up at 2481 McDonald Ave., where an old auto body shop once stood. The site is being developed by a company called Soltage to store electricity in batteries for later use. The goal is to reinforce the power grid during surge times. Janet Guerra, who lives near the site, says she is angered. "Our insurance companies are going to be dropping our homeowner policies as soon as they're aware that these facilities are coming to Gravesend," she said. Theresa Scavo from Community Board 15 recently found out through word of mouth. Immediately, concerns of battery fires, constant noise and dropping property values sprang up. "It's something called thermal runaway. If there is even a spark, it starts a chain reaction. The chain reaction could end up with gas fumes through our community," she told CBS News New York reporter Hannah Kliger. Assemblymember Michael Novakhov also learned of the plan while speaking to Kliger, calling it a red flag. "Everything is done very, very quietly without the community knowing about it. And that brings more concerns. Why is it done so quietly? What's wrong with that? Why not share this with the public?" he said. That stretch along McDonald Avenue near Avenue W is within the 44th City Council District. That City Council seat has been vacant since the start of the year, after Councilman Kalman Yager won his State Assembly race. Activists say that's been one of the challenges because even though City Council members do not directly approve facilities, they do often play an important role in informing the community and advocating for their concerns. That's why Councilwoman Inna Vernikov got involved, even though she represents a neighboring district. "Who is to say that tomorrow they're not going to try to do this in my district?" she said. "I think if people knew what they're trying to do here, there would be a protest of thousands of people." Last month, CBS News New York reported on two similar facilities coming to Flatbush Avenue in Marine Park, developed by a different company called NineDot. It's a plan neighbors there oppose for the same reasons. "In the end, it might very well make our own properties behind us unsellable," said Claudia Greco, a homeowner whose property would be steps away from one of the NineDot locations. Soltage says the system is designed with rigorous safety standards developed by the FDNY. Construction will begin in the coming months and it should be operational by mid 2026. Have a story idea or tip in Brooklyn? Email Hannah by CLICKING HERE .
