WHAT SHOULD WE THINK ABOUT THE FIRE AT THE MOSS LANDING BATTERY PLANT?

So much has been made of the fires still raging in Los Angeles that you may not have heard about the unrelated fire that broke out last Thursday (January 16) at the Moss Landing battery plant, located near San Francisco.

Moss Landing is one of the largest battery storage sites in the world, with tens of thousands of lithium-ion batteries. This and similar sites provide important energy storage services in California, which is one of the biggest US producers of renewable solar and wind power. It is unclear at this time what caused the fire.

Even though the fire started only a few days ago, I have already seen many articles by opponents of renewable energy claiming that this fire represents yet one more demonstration of why a renewable energy/battery storage strategy could never be effective. Other articles have pointed to incidents of electric vehicles exploding and to defective wind turbines to support this same narrative.

What should we make of these incidents? And what do they mean about the viability of renewable resources and batteries? Before I answer this question, let me first ask a question or two more.

First, what should we think about the nuclear power plant accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima?

Three Mile Island

Chernobyl

Fukushima

Each of these accidents resulted in the release of radiation from the reactors. Luckily, in each case the releases ultimately were stopped, but in each case the potential damage could have been catastrophic, and very nearly was at Chernobyl.

What should we think about explosions from leaks of natural gas?

According to a Public Interest Research Group Study, there were 328 such explosions from 2010 to the end of 2021, or about 30 each year.

What should we think about fires in gasoline-fueled cars?

A study by the National Fire Protection Association shows an estimated annual average of 215,096 vehicle fires in the United States from 2018–2022. This study does not differentiate between fires in gasoline fueled cars and electric vehicles, but other data indicates that there are significantly more car fires in gasoline fueled vehicles than electric vehi

What should we think about refinery fires?

Refinery fires can be difficult to extinguish, and they release dangerous toxic gases.

What should we think about the Exxon Valdez and multitude of other oil spills?

Oil spills are ecological disasters.

Collectively, these incidents, including the Moss Landing fire, should make us realize that producing, transporting, storing, and consuming every form of energy can be dangerous and environmentally disruptive when we are not careful. We should not minimize the potential dangers associated with any of the forms of energy we use to power the grid, or otherwise. This applies to advocates of renewable energy, but also to the advocates of nuclear power, fossil fuels, and other sources of energy. If you want to point fingers at energy sources based on accidents caused by the use of those sources, then you must point your finger at every energy source.

It is important not to fall into the trap of letting anecdotal evidence, particularly evidence supported by dramatic photos and videos like the ones I have provided in this post, to substitute for careful analysis of those accidents to evaluate their safety. If we were to shut down the uses of energy sources based on the spectacular accidents that sometimes have occurred from their use, we would all soon be back to living in caves in a hunter-gatherer society. Rather, we should learn the lessons that can be learned from those accidents and apply them to make the use of every form of energy safer and less harmful to the environment. I believe that this in fact has happened, which is why, for example, nuclear nuclear reactors are safer now than before the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima accidents.

So, what we should think about the Moss Landing fire is that it demonstrates the potential danger of placing large numbers of lithium-ion batteries together in one facility. And maybe this will help renewable energy advocates get off their high horse and realize that there are safety and environmental issues associated with renewable resources and batteries that must be taken seriously and not brushed aside. But we should not conclude from Moss Landing that renewable resources can never play an important role in supplying energy to the grid. Wind, solar, and battery technologies are still relatively new technologies when applied on the large scale at which they currently are being employed. There is every reason to believe that, just as innovation is likely to make these technologies more efficient and less expensive, lessons learned from accidents will make them safer and less prone to accident.

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