As one of the world’s largest battery storage facilities burns just up the coast in Moss Landing, residents of Morro Bay are raising the alarm over the proposed construction of a similar plant at the old Morro Bay Power Plant site.
“It’s horrifying to think this is something that could happen in Morro Bay,” said Nicole Dorfman, Morro Bay resident.
The fire at the Vistra battery power plant in Monterey County has sparked widespread concern in the community, with locals fearful of the risks associated with large-scale lithium battery energy storage systems (BESS), particularly near residential areas and tourist attractions.
“It is the worst-case scenario and that is exactly what we were fighting against locally, so it’s proof that this can happen and it was pretty shocking,” said Brenda Carlson, Morro Bay resident.
Vistra is the company behind the BESS proposal in Morro Bay.
“We’re all for green energy,” added local Norm Williams, “but lithium is a volatile chemical and you have to be careful where you locate the facilities.”
Since the fire in Moss Landing broke out on Thursday, Morro Bay City Councilmember Zara Landrum has received dozens of emails from residents voicing their concerns.
“There are concerns about this fire and how it would impact Morro Bay,” Landrum said. “The fact that it is so close to a high school is a concern, the air quality, and we’re a tourist community — how economically devastating it is affecting people’s desire to come here.”
“If they are going to put in battery energy facilities, they need to locate it away from metropolitan areas so that we can perhaps meet our green energy goals but not put the citizens at risk,” Williams said.
A few months ago, Vistra paused its battery plant application through the City of Morro Bay, shifting its focus to securing state approval instead.
“They wasted our time going through that whole process and then dropped it, supposedly to go to the California Energy Commission,” Landrum said, expressing frustration with the company’s decision to bypass the local approval process.
KSBY News reached out to Vistra for an update on the status of their application, but the company has not yet responded.
However, in response to the fire at the Moss Landing facility, Vistra issued a statement that said, "Our top priority is the safety of the community and our personnel, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders."
Local leaders, meanwhile, say they're closely watching the situation in Moss Landing.
State Assemblymember Dawn Addis, who represents the 30th District that includes Morro Bay, released a statement, saying, “I am deeply concerned and have serious questions about the safety of this battery energy storage plant. I will be looking for transparency and accountability for why this happened again at Moss Landing. I’m exploring all options for preventing future battery energy storage fires from ever occurring again on the Central Coast.”
On January 28, the Morro Bay City Council will consider adopting an urgency ordinance that could, at least temporarily, prohibit new battery energy storage systems within city limits. Residents are encouraged to submit comments to the city in advance of the meeting via email at council@morrobayca.gov.
