The final phase of cleanup efforts at Vistra Corp.’s battery storage facility in Moss Landing has begun. The work comes more than a year and a half after a fire damaged tens of thousands of lithium-ion batteries.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says crews are demolishing the burned building to reach batteries and debris that could not previously be safely accessed. The damaged batteries will be treated and tested at the site before being transported to a disposal facility.
Meanwhile, crews will continue to monitor air quality, water and battery temperatures. Dust control measures will also remain in place to protect workers and the surrounding community.
The fire began on Jan. 16, 2025 at Vistra’s 300-megawatt battery storage facility. The building held about 100,000 battery modules, and the EPA estimates that about 55% were damaged. The fire burned for several days and flared up again the following month.
During the first phase of the cleanup, crews removed nearly 40,000 intact batteries. Those batteries were de-energized and sent to the EPA-approved recycling facilities in Nevada and Ohio.
Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church said the pace of the cleanup is understandable because of the safety risks. However, he said important questions remain about how the fire started.
“The California Public Utilities Commission is still doing its investigation into this and has not determined a cause,” Church said. “I wish that was moving along a little faster, because it's an important consideration in all of this.”
Church said the county’s fire, health and emergency management agencies are being kept informed, but local officials have little authority over the cleanup itself.
“The county has a very small role in it,” Church said. “Sometimes it almost feels like a bystander role because the federal government makes all the calls.”
Vistra is paying for the cleanup under the EPA’s oversight. The company entered an agreement with the agency in July 2025 that required it to cover removal and disposal costs.
Vistra did not respond to KCBX’s request for comment in time for publication.
The fire in Moss Landing has also shaped discussion about how Monterey County should regulate future battery storage facility proposals. Church says county officials are working on an ordinance for the facilities, but state law limits how much authority local governments have.
Assembly Bill 205, passed in 2022, created a permitting process that could streamline large energy projects through the California Energy Commission. That means eligible battery storage companies can seek state approval through that process, rather than going through a local permitting system.
“The problem is that state law really limits what local government jurisdictions, whether it's a city or a county, can do,” Church said.
The issue has also reached San Luis Obispo County. Vistra had proposed turning part of the retired Morro Bay power plant property into a large battery storage facility. The company withdrew that application after the Moss Landing fire.
The EPA expects cleanup efforts in Moss Landing to be completed by mid-2027.
