Six months after an explosion and fire destroyed a grid-connected energy-storage battery facility in Surprise, Ariz., investigators are still trying to figure out all that happened. The incident sent eight firefighters and a police officer to the hospital, and three required extended stays.
What happened at the Arizona Public Service Co. site was a shocking reminder of the potential fire hazards of lithium-ion battery energy storage, which makes up virtually all such new systems in the U.S.