Vistra, which is proposing the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility project in Morro Bay, is also the same company that owns a BESS facility in Moss Landing that recently caught fire.
“We can never have a fire like that again,” said Assemblymember Dawn Addis, (D) Morro Bay.
“I was very concerned before. Now it’s just out of the question. Don’t allow it,” said Adrian Heryford, Morro Bay resident.
The fire at Vistra’s battery storage plant in Moss Landing has some locals concerned about the project that’s being proposed in their own backyard by the same company.
“Absolutely frightening. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, particularly Morro Bay,” Heryford said.
Addis visited the Moss Landing site last week.
“The flames were still very high. There were columns of dark black smoke,” she described the scene.
Addis says since 2019, there have been four battery fire incidents in California, three of them at Vistra battery sites.
She says she wants a complete stop to the battery project in Moss Landing.
“Enough is enough. We need to keep the plant offline until we can guarantee safety to the local community and environment,” Addis said.
And she wants Vistra to withdraw its Morro Bay proposal.
“There’s absolutely no way to support this in Morro Bay after seeing what I’ve seen,” Addis said.
She says she's aware the climate crisis needs to be addressed, “But we cannot put our local communities, environment, and businesses at risk.”
Addis is calling on the California Public Utilities Commission to conduct an independent investigation into the Moss Landing fire.
“And what are the preventative and accountability measures that are going to be taken,” she added.
In a statement Wednesday, Vistra addressed the Moss Landing incident saying, “Conditions at the site remain stable. Over the last 24 hours, there has continued to be a limited amount of smoldering at the Moss Landing 300 location, which is consistent with previous conditions.”
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Morro Bay City Council will consider adopting an urgency ordinance that would temporarily prohibit BESS systems within city limits. However, it would not stop companies from going to the state for approval under Assembly Bill 205 and bypassing the city as Vistra has said it plans to do.
