Assembly committee advances battery-safety bill after citing Moss Landing fire

The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy on Oct. 26 advanced SB 283, authored by Senator Laird, to the Local Government Committee. The bill — described by the author as the Clean Energy Safety Act of 2025 — would require standards, fire-department consultation and inspections, and prohibit the siting of utility-scale battery storage inside indoor combustible facilities.

Sen. Laird opened by describing the 2025 Moss Landing battery-storage fire, saying the blaze “burned for several days,” prompted evacuations, closed Highway 1 and raised community concerns about toxic smoke and ash. He said many early storage installations used older configurations that increased risks of thermal runaway and that the state’s storage fleet has grown dramatically: testimony cited roughly 500 megawatts in 2018–19 versus “between 13,000 and 14,000” megawatts currently, with a 2045 target cited at about 52,000 megawatts.

Supporters — including the California Professional Firefighters, local governments, fire authorities and several industry groups — urged passage. Doug Subers for the California Professional Firefighters told the committee that when utility-scale batteries ignite they are “difficult to extinguish and manage,” and cited incidents in Southern California that burned for a matter of days and required hazardous-materials teams. Subers said the bill’s requirement that project developers consult with fire agencies and meet the most recent National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards will improve planning and safety.

Key provisions discussed in testimony and amendments include: requiring fire-authority consultation and inspections at multiple project stages, clarifying that NFPA standards set a state minimum (a floor, not a ceiling) so local governments may adopt stricter requirements, requiring developers to pay inspection costs, and a ban on siting battery storage in indoor combustible facilities of the type that contributed to the Moss Landing incident.

Several local elected officials, county boards of supervisors, labor unions and energy developers testified in support or support-if-amended. Industry witnesses including Pacific Gas & Electric and other developers said they supported the bill as amended or were reviewing amendments; several trade and county associations offered support while thanking the author for clarifying amendments.

Committee members emphasized that modern battery systems and siting practices have changed since early projects, but they said formal standards and fire-agency involvement at the permitting stage are necessary. The author noted a prior bill, SB 38 (2023), which required safety plans but was not fully complied with by some developers at the time of the Moss Landing fire; SB 283 is intended to strengthen implementation and inspection requirements.

The committee passed SB 283 as amended to Local Government; the hearing recorded a unanimous favorable vote in committee (18–0) as the measure was sent on for further consideration.

Next steps: SB 283 advances to the Assembly Local Government Committee for further review and implementation details.