When a fire broke out at the Moss Landing battery facility in January, the smoke was more than literal. It clouded public confidence in a technology essential to California’s clean energy future — and it raised a critical question: who is responsible for ensuring these facilities are safe?

The answer must be the state of California. While the fire exposed a clear gap in oversight, abandoning battery storage or pushing projects into remote areas is not the solution. State regulators are best equipped to protect public safety and keep our clean energy transition on track.

Battery storage is the backbone of a renewable grid. It stores solar power when the sun isn’t shining and balances demand throughout the day. But as the Moss Landing incident shows, safety cannot be an afterthought. Understandably, residents were alarmed. Trust was shaken, and the fallout is already being felt. Communities with pending projects have hit pause, threatening progress toward the state’s energy goals.

The State Legislature recognized the need for rigorous oversight years ago. In 2022, lawmakers passed SB 1383, requiring the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish safety rules for battery storage operations. In 2023, SB 38 mandated emergency response plans for these facilities. And this March — after two long years — the CPUC finally acted, updating safety rules and asserting authority over existing and future projects.

This is a step in the right direction. But more must be done, and faster. The CPUC must fully implement these laws and ensure continuous oversight that keeps pace with evolving technology. Battery facilities built before modern codes must be reviewed, and operators held to today’s standards.

This responsibility cannot fall to small fire districts or local permitting agencies that lack the resources and technical capacity to oversee complex, industrial-scale systems. Doing so would risk a patchwork of inconsistent regulations, conflicting standards, and, in some cases, outright bans. California’s energy transition depends on deploying storage at scale — and in the right places: near where energy is used, and where grid infrastructure already exists.

We need a consistent, statewide safety framework — one that protects the public, builds trust and keeps clean energy projects moving forward. That’s why lawmakers should pass Senate Bill 283, authored by state Sen. John Laird. It strengthens state oversight while ensuring local voices are heard.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Fossil fuels contribute to an estimated 200,000 to 350,000 deaths per year in the U.S. from air pollution alone and remain the leading driver of climate change, fueling the wildfires, floods and deadly heatwaves that now define life in California. Battery storage is a critical tool in phasing them out. And while no energy source is risk-free, batteries are safer than fossil fuels and have not caused any fatalities in the U.S., according to the American Clean Power Association.

We can’t let this tragic fire be an excuse to stop progress. We must learn from it, regulate smarter, and move forward.

California’s clean energy future is within reach — if we have the courage to keep building it, and the wisdom to do it safely.

Wendy Root Askew is a Monterey County supervisor and alternate to the Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) Board of Directors. Fred Keeley is the mayor of Santa Cruz. He is a former member of the California State Assembly and currently serves as the chair of 3CE’s Board of Directors.