Storage Batteries for solar come with certain risks such as overheating, leakage and disposal. In 2019, a 2 MW battery array near Phoenix, Arizona caught fire and later exploded. There have fortunately been no battery fires in Hawaii but the fires at the Utility Arizona Public Service facility have caused solar installers throughout the US and Hawaii to take a second look. Because first responders were injured and the fire took nearly four hours to extinguish, and 9 weeks to fix the problem, the explosion has slowed down the rapid build out of solar battery systems across the US.

In Hawaii of the 6,000 new solar systems installed last year, 80% had lithium - ion batteries. 

Proponents of battery usage say that relative to the number of lithium – ion batteries installed in the US every year to store energy they are very safe. Unfortunately, the explosion and the risk of a catastrophic explosion and more than 20 lithium ion batteries in Korea as well as six fires on the US Mainland has caused a reconsideration of the technology.

In Hawaii, Blue Planet is now making available lithium-ion batteries (Fire-safe Blue Ion 2.0) that are fire resistant but still enable energy storage from different common energy sources such as generators and solar panels. These new batteries are designed in a multitude of situations, from grid outages to off-grid needs. Blue Planet has done extensive testing with rigorous UL tests, using a lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP) cell chemistry, high quality parts and materials, and according to the manufacturer makes use of “an advanced Battery Management Unit (BMU) integrate additional safety and performance layers into the energy storage system with both hardware and software safeguards.”

https://www.blueplanetenergy.com/blue-planet-energy-responds-to-california-energy-crisis-with-fire-safe-lithium-ion-battery-incentive/