What to say to Californians worried about grid batteries

California now has 21 gigawatts of large grid batteries, more than any state but Texas, and the state needs to more than double that by 2045 to meet its climate goals. These batteries store solar and wind power for use when the sun isn't shining or wind isn't blowing. But a string of fires, including repeated incidents at the Moss Landing facility and a smaller fire in La Verne that forced evacuations, has stirred public fear, and some California cities have moved to limit or ban new battery projects.

Industry and state officials say the fear is outpacing the actual risk. New data cited at a recent conference found a 98% drop in battery failures worldwide between 2018 and 2025, putting grid batteries roughly on par with the transformers already found at electric substations. California also tightened its battery fire-safety rules last year. Even so, projects near populated areas remain a hard sell: one large proposal in San Diego County was dropped after neighbor pushback, while a project in Chino won approval only after the developer made specific safety commitments and the local fire chief said his department was well trained for battery emergencies.

None of this requires anything from homeowners directly, since these are utility-scale installations, not home battery systems. But if a grid battery project gets proposed near you, the safety record and the specifics of a developer's fire-safety plan are what's actually driving whether neighbors end up for or against it.