A Tesla Megapack battery has just caught fire within a key storage facility located in California. This follows a recent Tesla Megapack that also caught fire in Geelong, Australia, last year.
A Tesla Negapack Battery Caught Fire at a Storage Site in California
According to the story by Tech Crunch, the largest utility in the state was the one that told them about the Tesla Megapack battery catching fire. The fire happened at an important power storage facility located in California.
PG&E shared that they were aware of the Elkhorn Battery Storage facility having a fire inside one Tesla Megapack. The fire reportedly happened in Moss Landing at 1:30 AM, about 25 miles south of Monterey County's Santa Cruz.
The Site was Home to 256 Megapacks and Capable of Storing Up to 730 Megawatt-Hours of Energy
The site is reportedly the home to a particular facility responsible for being the home of 256 Megapacks. The facility has the capability to be able to store up to 730 megawatt-hours of energy, as detailed in the Monterey Herald.
These particular factories support the transition from traditional energy to renewable energy. The factories do this by storing clean energy for use when renewable energy (like solar) is not instantly available.
Fire Resulted in a Section of Highway 1 Shutting Down
Upon the publishing of the story, the facility was already disconnected from the grid. The firefighters were reportedly able to stop the fire from spreading and even provide the emergency response personnel with a safe area.
The fire resulted in a section of Highway 1 shutting down, as seen on Twitter, and this sparked a shelter-in-place advisory coming from the sheriff's office of the county. The office gave a warning to residents located nearby at 9:00 AM, telling them to turn off their ventilation systems and shut their windows.
🚧 Updated road closure info: Closures for Hwy 1 at Salinas Rd & Molera Rd due to fire in Moss Landing. Expect delays. ETA to reopen 4-6 hours. pic.twitter.com/6yNXYKSo1Q
— CHP Santa Cruz (@CHPscrz) September 20, 2022
PG&E Described the Fire as an 'Ongoing Hazardous Materials Incident'
The warning described the incident as an "ongoing hazardous materials incident." As per PG&E's statement, the safety systems were able to work as they were initially designed when the issue was suddenly detected.
Due to the safety systems working how they were designed, no on-site injuries happened due to the incident. The utility also specified that the incident did not result in customers experiencing electrical outages during the time of the report.
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Not the First Time that a Tesla Megapack Caught Fire
When a spokesperson for PG&E was asked regarding the scale of the fire, they declined to share further information regarding the incident. As per Tech Crunch, although the incident is not pinned on Tesla, this is not the first time that lithium batteries at storage sites have caught fire.
Previously in Moss Landing, lithium batteries also caught fire repeatedly at storage sites. Just recently, another Tesla Megapack also caught fire in Geelong-Australia, which happened during the Victorian Big Battery storage site's initial tests.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
