Fire, Fire at Moss Landing!
Why the batteries burned and what that means
on Sustainability Now! Sunday, March 16th, 5-6PM
Ric O’Connell Ivan Aiello Megan Thiele Strong
On January 16th, 2025, a fire broke out at the Vistra plant in Moss Landing, California burning for two days and scattering heavy metals and other toxic materials across the plant’s surroundings, including Elkhorn Slough. What happened there and why did the batteries burn? What are the impacts of the fire and on the future of renewable energy?
Join host Ronnie Lipschutz for three conversations about the batteries and the fire, with Ric O’Connell, executive director of GridLab, who will explain what the batteries are doing there, Dr. Ivano Aiello, Professor of Geological Oceanography at San Jose State’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, who will discuss the results of his research into contamination of Elkhorn Slough, and Dr. Megan Thiele Strong, Professor of Environmental Sociology at San Jose State, who will talk about the health and social effects of the fire on people living around the site.
That’s on Sustainability Now! Sunday, March 16th, 2025, from 5-6 PM right here on community radio for the Monterey Bay Region, KSQD 90.7 FM, KSQT 87.9 FM, K207FE (FX) 89.5 and KSQD.org, streaming on the internet.
Here are some resources:
Fire Protection Association, UK “Why do lithium-ion batteries catch fire?”
Hunterbrook, “After Vistra Fire, Residents Report Illness, Scientists Confirm Contaminated Soil,” Jan. 27, 2025.
Never Again Moss Landing (NAML), “Community Organization Conducts Surface Sampling for Heavy Metals Following Moss Landing Battery Storage Facility Fire,” feb. 6, 2025.
Hunterbrook, “New Data Indicates Elevated Heavy Metal after Vistra Fire,” Feb. 11, 2025.
Julian Spector, “Why we don’t need to worry about the latest grid battery fire,” Canary Media.com, Jan. 27, 2025.
(Moss Fire photo @picklerich831 via REUTERS)
