
As battery fires spark ongoing concerns, NFPA releases risk-addressing standards - howard941
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/APS-battery-fire-energy-storage-risks-McMicken-investigation/563058/
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Animats
The actual document is here. [1] US$56. Here's a useful summary.[2]

 _" If an installation is outdoors, then it is either classified as remote or
near exposures. If an installation is remote, it needs to be 100 feet or more
away from any exposures such as other buildings, walkways, or combustible
materials. If the installation is not a remote installation, then it is
considered to be near exposures. Other acceptable outdoor installations that
have specific requirements are rooftops, open parking garages, and standalone
walk-in units such as shipping containers."_

 _" Three feet of clear space is required between every 50 KWh grouping of
ESS, as well as between the 50 KWh groupings and the walls of the room."_

 _" A sprinkler system is required to be installed ... with a 0.3 gallons-per-
minute-per-square-foot density over a 2,500-square-foot design area ... One of
the major concerns in extinguishing an ESS fire is cooling the energy storage
system down below the auto ignition temperature of the flammable gasses the
ESS may discharge in a thermal runaway event. Water is an effective
extinguishing agent for most ESS fires including lithium-ion battery ESS, and
that is what the committee settled on for a requirement."_

So what they're requiring is that units be spaced out enough that one fire
doesn't take out the whole installation, and the sprinklers can usually
contain the fire to one unit. Tighter restrictions apply if there are
"exposures", by which they mostly mean buildings with people in them.

Makes sense. There are similar spacing rules for above ground fuel storage
tanks.

[1] [https://catalog.nfpa.org/NFPA-855-Standard-for-the-
Installat...](https://catalog.nfpa.org/NFPA-855-Standard-for-the-Installation-
of-Stationary-Energy-Storage-Systems-P20704.aspx)

[2] [https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications-and-
medi...](https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications-and-media/NFPA-
Journal/2019/May-June-2019/Features/Energy-Storage-Systems)

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virusduck
Why on earth would it cost $56 to read the document?!

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Glawen
Pretty common with industry norms and standard unfortunately...

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xnyan
I agree. It's done, ostensibly, to distribute the cost of creating and
publishing the standard. This is not being done correctly, access should be
generally available to safety standards for reasons of promoting safe
practices.

No or very few individuals pay for personal access to standards, it's a
business expense paid paid by you or your firm. Allowing non-profit use would
not change their main source of revenue.

