General Renewable Discussion, page-2036

Tesla battery continues to burn at one of Queensland’s first large-scale battery storage sites after it caught fire last night.

Key points:
A resident says he heard bangs and pops as the fire raged
He kept his distance because he believed the smoke would have been "very toxic"
The site's owner and operator says Tesla will be involved in the investigation of the incident
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Police were called to the incident in Child’s Avenue in Bouldercombe, about 23 kilometres from Rockhampton, at 7:45pm.

Officers said the fire caused hazardous smoke to spill out into the immediate area and nearby residents were urged to stay indoors and keep respiratory medication close by.

Several firefighting crews were called and the fire was contained to a single battery earlier this morning.

Gracemere resident Dave Bailey witnessed the fire and said he could see huge, multi-coloured flames.

"We heard a few bangs and pops and things like that," Mr Bailey said.

"At one point the flames were pretty good — different colours and things like that."

A fire rages at an industrial site at night.
But he said he was not willing to get any closer because he was worried the smoke would be toxic.

"The smoke we saw coming from there would have been very toxic smoke, but we didn't get close enough to smell it or anything like that," Mr Bailey said.

Genex Power, which owns and operates the Bouldercombe Battery Project, said no-one was at the site at the time of the incident.

"On advice from the Queensland fire brigade and protocols provided by Tesla, the fire is being allowed to burn out under the supervision of the fire brigade," a spokesperson said.

Shipping containers, one of which has been damaged by fire, at an industrial site.
The battery is a lithium Tesla Megapack 2.0 unit and is one of 40 used at the site.

Genex Power said it would work with Tesla to investigate the incident.

Police say the fire does not appear to be suspicious.

Powerlink, which owns the substation next to the facility, says there is no damage to its assets or infrastructure.

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service said a single crew was remaining on stand-by.