August 15, 2025: An operation to remove lithium ion batteries damaged in a two-day fire at Vistra’s Moss Landing BESS in California has been given the green light.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on July 23 it had reached agreement to start the clean-up operation, although the cause of last January’s blaze at the 300MW facility was still unknown.

The EPA said the batteries posed an ongoing fire risk along with the release of hydrogen fluoride, and other flammable or toxic gases.

Vistra will bear the cost of the operation and must conduct monitoring and air sampling around the site during removal activities, as well as follow an EPA-approved emergency response plan, until all batteries and related materials have been removed.

The fire broke out on January 16, when Moss Landing contained around 100,000 lithium ion battery modules, of which about 55% were damaged, the EPA said. There was a flare-up of the fire on February 18.

Vistra said earlier this year that representatives of the battery manufacturer, LG Chem, had been assisting post-fire activities on site.
Batteries International reported last March that additional flare ups were still possible.

Meanwhile, regulators in California have called for a major overhaul of safety standards for BESS plants in the wake of Moss Landing and a string of incidents over the last three years.