The Republican Party of San Luis Obispo County (RPSLCO)
Opposes the Proposed World’s Largest Lithium Battery Storage System
at the Vacant Morro Bay Power Plant
WHEREAS Vistra Energy, a Texas-based company, has proposed to transform the vacant Morro Bay Power Plant into the world’s largest lithium battery storage system;
WHEREAS the proposed 22-acre power plant would use battery storage to create renewable energy, and consist of three new buildings, 30 feet tall, and covering
273,000 square feet;
WHEREAS findings of a University of Texas study funded by a FEMA grant underscore firefighters’ concerns about safety hazards in responding to fires in battery energy systems of all sizes;
WHEREAS the grant research team has subsequently connected small-scale battery failure test results to large scale fire and explosion consequences associated with these systems;
WHEREAS through this research, one of the biggest lessons learned for the fire service is that the utilities and commercial entities that own large battery systems are
equally unfamiliar with the potential fire hazards;
WHEREAS the research stated that there still remains many questions about the toxicity of the battery vent gas;
WHEREAS the planned battery storage facility is off the Embarcadero, the main
thoroughfare along the bay in Morro Bay which is well-known for attracting tourists year round;
WHEREAS Morro Bay is designated as part of the National Estuary Program by the EPA, and receives funding to protect and restore the physical, biological, economic, and recreational values of the Morro Bay Estuary;
WHEREAS Morro Bay is one of the most important waterbird stopover and wintering locations in California south of San Francisco Bay with up to 20,000 shorebirds spending the winter on its tidally-exposed mudflats, and is home to protected species such as peregrine falcons, snowy plovers, harbor seals, sea otters and more;
WHEREAS Vistra Energy is planning to build the storage facility on Sacred
Registered Chumash sites of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and the
Chumash Nation, an important stakeholder opposing the lithium battery storage
system, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Republican Party of San Luis Obispo County (RPSLOC) opposes the proposed 22-acre world’s largest lithium battery storage system at the vacant Morro Bay Power Plant.
Adopted May 5, 2021