Vistra says Moss Landing incident likely not related to lithium-ion batteries

Vistra Corp.’s CEO Curtis Morgan said that the company does not think that lithium-ion batteries supplied by LG Energy Solution were the cause of a September 4 incident at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility. He said the problem is “fixable in the near term” but did not say when the facility might return to service.

In a statement, the company said it is continuing to work on its root cause analysis to address the damage at Phase I (300 MW/1,200 MWh). An initial review found that a “small, single-digit percentage” of the batteries had been impacted. The facility has been offline since the incident.

The company said its investigation into the cause of the incident includes evaluating multiple systems, including the battery, control, communications, ventilation, and safety systems. One area of focus is whether the water-based heat suppression system in the facility was activated by smoke in the building unrelated to the batteries themselves.

It said its review so far has not identified any battery temperature measurements in excess of established temperature limits at the time safety systems activated.

“We continue to evaluate this and other sources of data,” the company said. Morgan said on a conference call that a meeting with battery supplier LG Energy was scheduled for September 30.

The company said it was assessing a number of restoration paths at Moss Landing, including incrementally returning a portion of the facility’s energy storage capacity more quickly.

Vistra said the 100-MW/400-MWh Phase II facility at the Moss Landing site remains operational.