AFTER OTAY FIRE, LA MESA CITY MANAGER OFFERS ASSURANCES ON SAFETY OF PROPOSED BATTERY STORAGE SITE IN LA MESA
By Image: Rendering of proposed Murray Project in La Mesa, via Enersmart's project website
July 8, 2024 (La Mesa) – A battery fire at the Gateway energy storage facility in Otay Mesa in May forced evacuation of nearby businesses for nearly two weeks.
Enersmart has proposed building a battery energy storage facility at 8131 El Paso Street in La Mesa.
After the Otay fire, La Mesa City Manager Greg Humora recently sent an e-mail to the mayor and city councilmembers highlighting key differences between the Otay and La Mesa projects in size, technology, and fire protection plans.
Key differences between Enersmart’s proposed La Mesa project and the Gateway site in Otay:
- The Otay site was a 250 megawatt “warehouse” system with all batteries housed together. In 2020, it was the largest location in the world.
- Enersmart’s proposed La Mesa project is a much smaller 3 megawatt containerized system. Containerized systems are more compact, with a smaller footprint and less environmental disruptions than larger facilities during installation and operation.
- Enersmart’s would use lithium iron phosphate, which is less prone to overheating and catching fire than the lithium ion batteries at Otay.
- Since the Otay facility went online in 2020,there are new best management practices in place.
- All proposed battery storage systems must meet code and regulation requirements including Chapter 12 of the 2022 Calfornia Fire Code and SB 38.
- These regulations set stricts standards for battery energy storage facilities, including internal fire detection and suppression systems.
- SB 38 goes further, requiring every battery energy storage facility in California to have an emergency response and emergency action plan covering the facility; owners or operators must coordinate with local emergency management and other agencies to develop the plan and submit it to the city or county.
Project Status: The Site Development Plan for Enersmart’s project, located across the street from an SDG&E substation, was approved in July 2023 and no appeals were received. In August 2023, the Design Review Board postponed consideration and asked for aesthetic improvements to a retaining wall and stone veneers.
The applicant must also submit a Hazard Analysis and Emergency Response Plan to be reviewed by a fire protection engineer subject matter expert hired by the city.
Humora notes, “Heartland Fire & Rescue is trained in response approaches for a variety of battery energy storage events. San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Robert Rezende is an operations subject matter expert in the region and is available through Mutual Aid.”
If the Design Review Board approves the project, any approval would be subject to ratification by the City Council.