Fire at PG&E’s Tesla battery storage facility in Moss Landing under control, authorities lift closures

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

A fire at PG&E’s Tesla-supplied Elkhorn Battery energy storage system at Moss Landing, California, is considered fully controlled and road closures and shelter-in-place advisories have been lifted.

A statement from the County of Monterey authority, where the system is located, said that a fire at the plant started at 2am local time on 20 September (yesterday).

The fire was isolated to a single battery pack and led to the closure of Highway 1 from Molera to Jensen Road and local residents were advised to shelter in place with windows closed, due to the risk of hazardous materials.

A statement later that evening, 7.18 pm local time, said the incident was considered fully controlled and the North County Fire Department and Monterey County Sheriff’s Office had lifted the shelter in place advice and all road closures due to the incident, effective 6.50 pm.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The statement added that smoke could still occur and residents were being advised to remain vigilant.

CNBC quoted a captain of the fire department who said it was too early to know the cause of the incident.

PG&E commissioned the Elkhorn Battery, a 182.5MW/730MWh BESS which uses Tesla Megapacks, in April this year.

It is not to be confused with the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, a 400MW/1,600MWh BESS which is located at the same site but is an entirely separate system owned by Vistra Energy, but also providing power to PG&E. That project came back online in July after several months offline due to an overheating incident.

Read Next

Premium
September 12, 2025
The Town of Ulster in New York has received a request from local officials of the neighbouring town of Hurley to temporarily suspend the permitting process of a 250MW/1,000MWh BESS project under development by independent power producer (IPP) Terra-Gen. 
September 11, 2025
It’s still to early to see the financial impact on energy storage suppliers in the wake of Trump’s tariffs and legislation, writes Solar Media analyst Charlotte Gisbourne, analysing their H1 revenues.
Premium
September 10, 2025
California community choice aggregator (CCA) Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) and independent power producer NextEra Energy Resources (NEER) have agreed on the terms of a flexible offtake agreement relating to a 115MW/460MWh standalone BESS. 
September 10, 2025
Tesla has announced that by the end of 2026, it expects to have around 4.5GW of grid-forming battery storage operating across Australia.
September 9, 2025
Tesla announced its new integrated 20MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) solution, the Tesla Megablock, on 8 September in Las Vegas, US.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter