Owner alleges defects, inverter failures and arc flashes at Diablo battery project

2022Published 17 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantElectricalProvisional200 MW

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out of service for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate

From the recordRoot cause Failed part

Where: Diablo battery storage project, 200 MW in Pittsburg, California
What: 27 inverter failures and two arc flash events after April 2022
Injuries: None reported
Cause: Not reported

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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Fluence

What happened

Energy-Storage.News reports a California court filing in which the owner of the Diablo battery storage project, a 200 MW system in Pittsburg, California, alleges technical failures after it took control following completion in April 2022. The filing alleges slow or inaccurate control responses to CAISO signals and removal from the ancillary service market for several weeks, an inoperable human-machine interface, frequent auxiliary-control and inverter failures, including an alleged 27 inverter failures between 13 June and 14 July 2022, two arc flash events, overheating and maintenance downtime. Fluence, the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, denies the allegations. Injury, damage and an independently confirmed cause have not been reported.

Contributing factors

The owner attributes the alleged failures to workmanship and other shortcomings under the EPC contract. Fluence denies that account. No independent finding of cause has been reported.

Lessons learned

Inverter failures at a BESS must be logged against dispatch records, as slow responses led to removal from ancillary service markets for several weeks.
Repeated inverter failures and arc flash events at battery sites require prompt investigation and a safe operating plan while the cause remains unconfirmed.

More lessons on worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

Cause of the inverter failures and arc flashes
Turbine or inverter model and age
Duration of maintenance downtime
Cost of the damage and lost revenue

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Source

Energy-Storage.news (energy-storage.news)

Site page: Diablo Energy Storage (status, dates and other incidents)

Published 2026-09-17. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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The record behind this entry

The record behind EIR-0930 holds the site, the operator, the owner, the integrator, the capacity, the root cause and what failed as fields you can filter, count and export, with its source and their verification status. The cause is not hidden: the contributing factors above give it as the sources report it. The record adds it as a field. Companies are named in the roles the sources give them. Being named is not a finding of fault.

Site: ••••••••••••
Operator: •••••••••
Owner: •••••••••
Integrator: ••••••••
Capacity: •••••
Failed part: •••••••
Sources: ••••••••

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