On a 3.2-acre site next to an Edison substation sits an 80-megawatt lithium-ion energy storage facility. Tucked behind a small strip mall in Canyon Country, it’s just steps away from homes and businesses.
At a packed community meeting in Canyon Country last July, residents voiced concerns about the facility’s safety. One of them, Canyon Country resident Tony Maldonado, warned that the project could pose serious risks.
“Let me be absolutely clear. The Canyon Country BESS is not just a bad idea. It’s a ticking time bomb. Planted just 200 feet away from homes and businesses,” said Maldonado.
Brian Fink, a Risk Alliance Subject Matter Expert at Terra Gen, stated during the same meeting that if a fire occurs at the storage facility, water and foam are ineffective. Adding that no product can extinguish a Lithium-Ion battery; instead, the battery should be allowed to burn out on its own.
But today, just steps away from the battery plant, there’s a noticeable disconnect.
Some nearby workers and residents are unsure whether there is any danger.
“I don’t get scared because it’s not that big. It’s a small,” said Maria Ceccaldi, a resident from a nearby Mobile Home park.
Maria said she received advice from an Edison representative and an engineer friend on ways to reduce exposure if something goes wrong.
“They say that the trees absorb some of the, the, whatever the lithium and we don’t get it in our system,” said Ceccaldi.
Maldonado and many others at the meeting last February were not convinced that a fire at the facility would not pose any health risks.
“With all due respect, I don’t believe you, and you are lying to us. Despite this design, you cannot guarantee our safety,” said Maldonado.
