Vistra’s battery storage facility goes up in flames, spurs evacuation orders

One of the world's largest battery storage facilities is being consumed by flames near San Francisco on Friday, and officials say the best solution is to let the factory continue to burn, even as it releases toxic fumes into the air.

Vistra Corp's 3000-megawatt Moss Landing energy storage facility went up in flames on Thursday, in a blaze that is expected to remain contained to the building. The company's shares dropped about 6% in premarket activity.

The fire is nowhere near the Los Angeles-area wildfires.

About 40% of the building has been consumed in the fire, whose cause remains under investigation.

"There are no active fire suppression efforts going on, as the best approach, according to fire staff, is to allow the building and batteries to burn," according to a Monterey Sheriff official.

Both Vistra and the county official said that all site personnel had been evacuated and no injuries were reported. The fire had also prompted evacuation of places nearby.

Vistra has not yet released any statement on potential financial impact from the fire or any timeline on recovery efforts.

Lithium-ion batteries have solidified their position as the technology of choice in the electric vehicle market, and the market for these batteries is projected to keep growing at about 30% annually.

Vistra and other power firms became top S&P 500 performers last year, as demand for clean and sustainable supply of energy from data centers, manufacturers and electric-vehicle makers has been on the rise.

The impact of the ongoing fire on the energy storage sector and the supply chain remains unclear.

An adjacent Tesla battery facility was not affected by the fire, the official added.

California has been on alert since the Los Angeles fires started about 10 days ago and has killed at least 27 people.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy, Shubham Kalia, Kanjyik Ghosh and Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Sharon Singleton and Leroy Leo)