Battery Storage Boom Meets Backlash in Fire-Prone California

The US is in the midst of a battery boom critical to keeping the lights on amid heat waves, winter storms and surging electricity demand from artificial intelligence. But developers are increasingly encountering an implacable foe: communities afraid that large lithium-ion storage farms could spontaneously burst into flames.

As installations grow larger and are placed closer to neighborhoods, on farmland or in high-risk wildfire areas, local opposition is growing. That puts many states in a bind as they depend on renewable energy to meet rising electricity demand and to achieve climate targets. The expansion of solar and wind energy is tied in ...