Moss Landing (USA), January 17
A massive fire at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants on Thursday afternoon prompted hundreds of evacuation orders and closed a section of Highway 1 in Northern California.
According to the Mercury News, black smoke began to rise from the flames and showed no sign of abating by Thursday night, prompting the evacuation of about 1,500 people in the Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough areas.
The Moss Landing power plant, located about 124 kilometers south of San Francisco, is owned by Texas company Vistra Energy and contains thousands of lithium batteries.
These batteries are important for storing electricity from renewable energy sources like solar energy, but if they catch fire, it can be very difficult to put out. Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church told KSW-TV it’s a disaster. – Ap