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4 Environmental Analysis 4.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials affect neighboring units. The fire protection and prevention technology employed in battery storage units based on battery models available on the current market is specifically designed to prevent a combustion event, and then subsequently put through UL 9540A testing to confirm a combustion event that could result in a fire hazard would not occur. In fact, a recent study conducted by the Fire Protection Research Foundation titled "Hazard Assessment of Lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage Systems" tested an older model of battery in an attempt to intentionally cause a thermal runaway event to determine the potential for thermal runaway (NFPA 2016). The attempt failed, demonstrating the fire prevention integrity of such units to prevent combustion and thermal runaway from occurring (NFPA 2016). Compliance with these standards and certification includes a Battery Management System (BMS) design that detects high temperatures at the battery cell or battery module level and automatically shuts down the battery rack. Furthermore, installation of battery units would follow manufacturer specifications for the spacing of batteries and clearance distances to further prevent a thermal runaway event. Each unit would also be equipped with thermal management systems for thermal management of the batteries. Power to the thermal management system and lighting would be provided through a connection to the onsite station service transformer with connection lines installed above and/or below ground. Cabinets housing batteries are designed with adequate ventilation and will also be equipped with carbon monoxide (CO) detection that would alert the remote monitoring facility that the sensor has been activated. Combustible vegetation or agricultural products on and around the Project Boundary would be actively managed by the Project owner or its affiliates during both the construction and decommissioning phases of the Project to minimize fire risk. Combustible products would be either limited in height or removed. Additionally, the Project would include firebreaks around the Project Boundary in the form of access roads subject to County standards. The gen-tie line and tie-in to the existing PG&E Tesla Substation would also be required to comply with transmission vegetation management standards established by NERC. Although the closest people or structures are residences located approximately 0.2 mile (approximately 1,000 feet) north of the Project site on the other side of West Patterson Pass and 0.2 mile (approximately 1,000 feet) southwest of the Project site at the southern terminus of Midway Road, the proposed Project is not expected to expose these residences, or any other people or structures, either directly or indirectly, to a significant risk of loss, injury, or death involving wildland fires. Impacts would be less than significant. Mitigation: None required. 4.9.5 PG&E Tesla Substation Improvements and Gen-tie To accommodate the Project, PG&E would be responsible for siting, design, and construction of the gen-tie line from the POCO to its substation. Two options are available for the gen-tie line route from this point. The first option would be to connect via an aboveground line from the POCO to a point on the west side of the southwestern boundary of the substation. The second option is to enter the substation on the southwestern edge by way of a belowground line as shown in Figure 2-1 of Chapter 2, Project Description. Either right-of-way corridor is assumed to be up to 100 feet in width. Griffith Energy Storage Project 4.9-19 Tetra Tech/SCH 2022120675 Draft Environmental Impact Report August 2023