Page | 003 Recent California Energy Storage Battery Fire Draws Renewed Attention to Storage Safety Issues | American Public Power Association 6/16/23, 4)49 PM
storage systems.
The investigation involved a number of key stakeholders, and APS commissioned several forensic experts and nationally recognized research institutions. Once the investigative work was completed, APS chose DNV GL to combine various forensic and expert inputs into the single, consolidated report.
Among other things, the report said (https://www.aps.com/-/media/APS/APSCOM- PDFs/About/Our-Company/Newsroom/McMickenFinalTechnicalReport.ashx? la=en&hash=50335FB5098D9858BFD276C40FA54FCE) that the suspected fire “was actually an extensive cascading thermal runaway event, initiated by an internal cell failure within one battery cell in the BESS [battery energy storage system].”
In August 2019, an Arizona utility regulator raised questions (https://www.publicpower.org/periodical/article/concerns-about-li-ion-battery-safety- wake-fires) about the safety of certain lithium-ion batteries, following fires at APS battery storage facilities.
In a letter to her fellow commissioners, commission sta! and other interested parties, Commissioner Sandra Kennedy, of the Arizona Corporation Commission, said the types of lithium ion chemistries used at those facilities “are not prudent and create unacceptable risks.”
Along with the April 19 fire, Kennedy’s letter also cited a November 2012 fire at an APS storage facility at its Elden substation.
More recently, a fire broke out an energy storage facility in Chandler, Ariz., in April 2022. The incident occurred at the Dorman battery storage system, a 10 MW, 40 megawatt-hour stand- alone battery storage system in Chandler. The BESS is interconnected with and provides service to the Salt River Project. It is owned by AES Corp.
The investigation “into what happened at Chandler is still underway. We expect a determination in the coming weeks,” said AES spokesperson Gail Chalef on Sept. 26.
Standards for Energy Storage Systems
A key player in addressing concerns about energy storage technology safety issues is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
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