Vistra cancels plans to build a battery plant in Morro Bay

Vistra Corp. will not proceed with plans to build a 600-megawatt battery energy storage facility in Morro Bay, according to the California Energy Commission.

“Vistra has informed the CEC that they will not be advancing the project,” agency spokesperson Niki Woodard wrote in an email to The Tribune on Thursday.

In 2020, the Texas-based energy company applied to the city of Morro Bay for a development permit to build the battery plant on the retired Morro Bay Power Plant property.

However, the project faced significant community pushback, including a ballot measure designed to block industrial projects like the battery facility on the Embarcadero property. That ballot measure passed last November with support from almost 60% of Morro Bay’s voters.

The plans were further clouded after a battery fire at Vistra’s Moss Landing facility renewed local fears about battery energy storage, inspiring another wave of criticism of the project.

Vistra withdrew its application from the city in April, but that didn’t mean the project was over.

The corporation could still have applied to the California Energy Commission for consideration under the opt-in certification program, which allows the commission to override local zoning codes and approve large renewable energy projects.

But Vistra told the California Energy Commission that it would not pursue the opt-in certification program for the battery plant, Woodard told The Tribune on Thursday.

Vistra did not respond to The Tribune’s request for comment by press time.

The city learned about Vistra’s decision to abandon the project from the California Energy Commission, Morro Bay community development director Airlin Singewald said.

Vistra will continue to own the power plant property, but the company has not yet announced plans for the land.

“The city is currently updating our Waterfront Master Plan, which will establish a vision for sustainable and resilient visitor-serving uses on the power plant property consistent with the site’s General Plan designation and zoning,” he wrote in an email to The Tribune. “We look forward to engaging with Vistra and the community in this process.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Vistra cancels plans to build a battery plant in Morro Bay."