April 30, 2026: Part of Vistra’s Moss Landing lithium ion BESS in California will never return to service following a two-day fire at the facility last year.

Vistra said in an April 17 update it is continuing to evaluate the potential restart of another part of the 300MW facility ― and revealed the cause of the battery fire in January 2025 is still unknown.

‘Moss 100’, one of three BESS systems at the site, will not return to service because the cost of recommissioning will outweigh potential future revenues.

‘Moss 350’ is under evaluation in the hope it can be returned to service sometime this year, Vistra said.

Meanwhile, as of April 17, more than 28,000 intact battery modules have been removed, de-energised, and shipped to approved recycling facilities.

Vistra expects removal of intact batteries and demolition activities to continue for the next several months.

“Investigations like these take time, and we ask for your patience as our teams examine a myriad of data points to understand what happened,” the utility said.

“In the coming weeks and months, we will continue to be transparent with local officials, regulatory agencies, and the public on the next steps for the Moss Landing battery facilities and the findings of our investigation.”

Batteries International reported last August that Moss Landing contained around 100,000 lithium ion battery modules, of which about 55% were damaged in the fire. There was also a subsequent flare-up of the fire and representatives of the battery manufacturer, LG Chem, has been assisting post-fire activities on site.

In October last year, landmark new BESS safety standards were signed into state law in California in the wake of the fire.

Photo credit: Clarios