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The US solar industry is in an uproar over a group of petitions before the Department of Commerce, which seek to impose heavy new tariffs on imported solar panels and solar cells. The writers of the petitions have chosen to remain anonymous and now the guessing game is on. So, who is behind those solar tariff petitions?

What’s The Big Deal About Solar Panel Tariffs?

If you’re new to the topic of solar panel tariffs, all you need to know is one thing: the number of actual soup-to-nuts solar manufacturers in the US is vanishingly small. Almost all of the domestic manufacturing in the US is done with imported panels and cells, among other parts. That means tariffs can make or break key players and put a damper on the entire domestic industry.

It’s not quite that simple, because other elements can come into play. The Trump administration put a crimp in the industry when it imposed new solar tariffs in January 2018, but technology improvements, new solar financing instruments, and the use of solar panels not covered by the tariffs helped keep the industry up and running.

Supply chain security is another complicating factor. As with the Obama administration, the Biden administration is trying to ramp up domestic supplies of key parts and materials. That’s going to take time. As things stand now, the US is going to have to continue relying on imports to accelerate solar installation in accord with the President’s ambitious climate action plan.

So, Who’s Really Behind The New Solar Panel Tariffs?

Into this picture steps a group of anonymous companies petitioning the Department of Commerce to impose new tariffs of 50% to 250% on imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels and cells from Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, according to an angry letter fired off by the Solar Industries Association of America earlier this week. The letter was signed by 190 or so US solar stakeholders.

In the letter, SEIA demanded to know who was behind the petitions. If you know how to look up petitions at the Department of Commerce, have at it. We searched under “crystalline silicon photovoltaic” and came up with four recent and not-so-anonymous requests for relief.

The first occurred in 2017 during the Trump administration and was filed on behalf of Suniva. The next one popped up in 2019, on behalf of “United States Trade Representative.”

Then it was radio silence until last month, when two petitions popped up. One was filed on behalf of Suniva and Auxin Solar, and the other was filed on behalf of Hanwha Q Cells USA, LG Electronics USA, and Mission Solar Energy.

If you’re having an a-ha moment, you might have to guess again. Auxin, Suniva, Hanwha, and LG were not among the 190 solar companies that signed on to the SEIA letter, but Mission Solar does appear on the list.

So, either Mission is playing both sides against the middle, or it has one hand that doesn’t know what the other is doing, or there are two different companies called Mission Solar. Or something else is going on.

Either way, neither of the August petitions are the ones upon which SEIA is aiming its wrath. According to news reports last month, several petitions were that were filed in August have yet to be published by the Commerce Department.

Who Really Supports Solar Panel Tariffs?

One might look for a hint among the solar companies that publicly supported the Trump administration on solar panel tariffs. One was Suniva, which later filed for bankruptcy. In 2019 our friends over at Quartz reported that Suniva later-later successfully reorganized through the New York firm Lion Point Capital.

Quartz also noted that the German company SolarWorld Industries’ wholly owned subsidiary SolarWorld Americas supported the Trump tariffs before it, too, filed for bankruptcy. Its assets were purchased by SunPower in 2018.

SolarWorld Americas did surface again in 2020, when the D.C. law firm Wiley represented it in a tariff case against the Chinese company Sunpreme in California (more on that in a sec).

What Is The American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention?

As for the identities of the anonymous petitions, the answer still lies somewhere deep within the halls of Wiley, which is also representing those filers. In a press release dated August 16, Wiley cites the organization American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention as the entity behind the anonymous petitions.

By circumvention, they allege that Chinese companies have off-shored much of their solar business to Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, while continuing to hold a firm grip on subsidized manufacturing and R&D at home. The Wiley press release names many names including affiliates of Jinko Solar in Malaysia, Canadian Solar Manufacturing in Thailand, and Trina Solar in Vietnam.

Wiley’s August press release was widely reported, but nobody seems to have found a website or any other background information about an organization named the American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention, other than there are reportedly several solar companies in the group.

That thing about anonymity brings up another case of interest involving Wiley and privacy. Last March, the firm issued a press release that describes two amicus briefs it filed in support of organizations challenging a California law that requires all charities operating within the state to disclose their major donors to the California Attorney General.

One was filed in support of the Thomas More Law Center and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. The other was filed jointly with the American Legislative Exchange Council.

If ALEC rings a bell, it should. Among other issues, the organization has been linked to obstruction on climate action, leading climate activists and other stakeholders to try and shed light on its donors.

Wily’s amicus brief with ALEC goes beyond First Amendment issues to describe why anonymity is so important to charitable organizations like ALEC.

“…ALEC’s brief highlights an organized campaign to defame, harass, and boycott ALEC members as well as members of other organizations over several decades using compulsory disclosure as a tool,” Wiley explains in its press release.

“The brief details how public officials allied with private activists tried to obtain rosters of ALEC’s ‘members and private contributors’ for the purpose of using that information ‘to ruin ALEC and eliminate its ideas from the public square,’” Wiley adds.

Do tell! Let’s go back to those anonymous circumvention petitions that Wiley filed in August. PV Magazine’s reporting included an interview with Wiley partner Timothy Brightbill, who explained the reasoning behind the anonymity:

“[Brightbill] declined to name members of the antidumping organization, saying that ‘Given the Chinese control of the entire solar supply chain, retaliation is likely if their identities are revealed.’ In such situations, the companies who make up the coalition ‘are allowed under U.S. law to remain confidential,’ he said.”

That seems to settle that. Wiley and Brightbill also represented SolarWorld Americas in that 2020 legal action, so it seems that anonymity cuts a fine cloth in matters such as these.

The Commerce Department has until September 30 to answer the anonymous petitions, so stay tuned for more on that.

Follow me on Twitter @TinaMCasey.

Photo: Solar panels via US Department of Energy.

 

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You can finally get your motorcycle license on an electric, and everyone’s loving it

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July 23, 2025

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You can finally get your motorcycle license on an electric, and everyone's loving it

Getting a motorcycle license just got a little easier – and more electrifying. In a move that could help usher more riders into the electric future, new riders now have a chance to learn on LiveWire electric motorcycles as part of a licensing course.

It’s all starting at Bartels’ Harley-Davidson Riding Academy in Marina del Rey, where new riders preparing for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) riding course can now opt for a LiveWire electric motorcycle instead of the standard internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycle learner bikes.

The Riding Academy is now integrating the LiveWire S2 Mulholland and the S2 Alpinista into its official training fleet for its MSF-based rider course, making it one of the first in the country to use electric motorcycles for license training. Aspiring motorcyclists can now learn to ride on a smooth, quiet, clutch-free electric machine instead of the gasoline-powered bikes typically used in beginner courses.

Without the need to learn and master concepts such as clutch friction zones and shifting, riders can dedicate more focus to the riding principles that form the foundation of safe motorcycling.

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New riders learn those skills associated with safe motorcycle riding alongside instructors certified by the California Motorcyclist Safety Program (CMSP) and the Harley-Davidson Riding Academy. Graduates of the course earn their DL389 and Riding Academy Certificate of Completion. That leaves riders just one written exam passing score away from receiving their motorcycle endorsement.

Greg Andrews is the Riding Academy Site Manager at Bartels’ Harley-Davidson, and he explained that adding the LiveWire electric motorcycle into the rider course fundamentally shifted how students were able to learn.

“What the LiveWire does, as a basic trainer, is to allow the student to focus strictly on core riding skills,” said Andrews. He added that the XG500 and RA350 ICE motorcycles normally used in the course are good bikes in their own right, but they aren’t ideal for training new riders on important handling skills because of the added distraction in having to first learn and become proficient in operating a clutch and shifting while mastering throttle control.

“Students who have no idea of the science of leaning, corner traction percentages, gained and lost to lean angle, etc., are distracted by the ICE powertrain, versus the LiveWire students, whose sole focus is riding essentials,” said Andrews. “As a pilot, my father had me learn initially in gliders. There I learned pitch, roll, and yaw, coordinated turning, etc., and all the things necessary to fly larger aircraft. I’ve flown 60 different aircraft since. The LiveWire is essentially the glider.”

Members from Alpinestars’ graphics team were among the first to participate in the inaugural electric option for the rider training course.

“The repetition of stop-and-go made me appreciate eliminating clutch and shifting. It was also much easier to navigate tight turns and cone swerving,” said course graduate Tyler Emond, who completed the rider training on a LiveWire S2 electric motorcycle. “I think from a beginner standpoint, electric is 100% the way to start out.”

It was a sentiment shared by many, even those who already had experience with manual transmission vehicles. “I already know the basics of shifting because I’ve ridden dirt bikes and I drive a manual transmission car,” said fellow course graduate Dillon Kinkead. “And I think that being able to work on operating a motorcycle without having to focus on shifting is a benefit because I was able to concentrate on accelerating, braking, and turning.”

Bartels’ Harley-Davidson Rider Academy is now taking enrollment for more classes featuring the LiveWire S2 learner bikes, and interested riders can sign up online. LiveWire plans to expand electric rider training across the country, making riding more accessible and less intimidating for new generations.

Electrek’s Take

I have been calling for this for years and I’m super excited to finally see it become a possibility.

To be honest, I often saw it merely as cutting out an unnecessary step of learning something that would likely never be used (i.e., shifting gears on a motorcycle). Electric learner bikes didn’t used to be an issue because most electric motorcycle riders were converts from ICE bikes, having made the switch after seeing the light. But with more people than ever getting into electric motorcycles without ever having ridden a gasoline-powered motorcycle, it made sense to me that learning to work a clutch on a gas bike was wasted effort in such a case.

But I never really thought about how much more quickly it would allow someone to actually leapfrog the skills-based learning. And that makes perfect sense. Why spend several hours crawling across a parking lot while discussing the “friction zone” when you could already be learning about countersteering, lean angles, and evasive maneuvers?

And if I can speak from personal experience for a moment, this hits home for me as someone who actually went through a Harley-Davidson Rider Academy course to get my motorcycle license. In fact, I’ve gone through licensing courses in two countries, once on a Harley-Davidson Street 500 and once on a Kawasaki Ninja 400. I drove a 40-year-old manual transmission car every day in high school, and so learning to shift on a motorcycle came quickly, but few people come from that background anymore. I saw plenty of people struggle to learn to shift when they should have been learning to ride. And since plenty of folks like me see themselves in an electric motorcycle future, that extra time and frustration spent learning muscle memory only relevant to a gasoline-powered bike is wasted.

For those that do plan to go back to ICE, I can definitely see the value here too. You master the riding skills first, then you can spend all the time you need to learn to shift smoothly. But trying to learn to ride when you only learned how to get into first gear an hour ago is a recipe for frustration.

So, short story short, I’m all about this. With a whole generation of young riders now getting into motorcycles thanks to years of riding electric bikes, I imagine there will be many more takers for these types of all-electric training programs in the coming years.

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Bluetti Pioneer MD station at $499 low, Heybike Hauler cargo e-bike from $999 low, Govee garden lights $50 off, EcoFlow, tools, more

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July 23, 2025

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Bluetti Pioneer MD station at 9 low, Heybike Hauler cargo e-bike from 9 low, Govee garden lights off, EcoFlow, tools, more

Headlining today’s Green Deals is Bluetti’s Pioneer MD Portable Power Station (AKA the AC180T) that has returned to its $499 low that we first saw during Amazon’s Prime Day event. Right behind it, we have the extended $500 discount on Heybike’s Hauler Cargo e-bikes that are at their lowest prices starting from $999, as well as the new Govee Outdoor Garden Lights 2-Pack at $150. From there, we have EcoFlow’s RIVER 3 power station returning to its Prime Day rate, as well as three offers on Greenworks and Worx tools – two of which are only lasting through the rest of the day. All these and more are waiting for you below. Plus, there’s all the hangover savings at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s ongoing Aventon Sinch 2 e-bike low, the $114 savings on Autel’s 50A AC Lite level 2 EV charger, and more

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Bluetti has dropped its Pioneer MD power station with dual removable batteries back to its $499 low

Through its official Amazon storefront, Bluetti is bringing back the Prime Day low pricing on its Pioneer MD (AC180T) Portable Power Station at $499 shipped, after clipping the on-page $60 off coupon. While it goes for $1,299 in full directly from the brand’s website, where it’s currently marked down to $549, we see it keeping to a $1,099 full price at Amazon. Before Prime Day two weeks ago, the lowest we saw discounts go was $699, with the four-day event seeing the first fall to the $499 low. That same rate is returning for a second round here while the savings last, giving you a $600 markdown ($800 off the MSRP) at the best price we have tracked.

A unique model amongst Bluetti’s lineup, the Pioneer MD power station, also known as the AC180T, comes with two removable 716Wh batteries inside that can be swapped out for others, given you have more B70 batteries to insert into either of the two slots. This dual-battery setup provides a 1,432Wh LiFePO4 capacity that can deliver up to 1,800W of steady output, with that rate surging as high as 3,600W for larger appliance needs. There are nine port options to connect devices to: four AC outlets, two USB-Cs, two USB-As, and a DC port.

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Bluetti’s Pioneer MD power station comes with a turbo charging mode that you can activate through the onboard touchscreen or via the companion app, refilling the battery to 80% in just one hour. There’s also the option to plug into your car’s auxiliary port to charge while you drive or you can connect up to its max 500W solar input to recharge during sunny days in up to 2.5 hours.

Heybike Hauler cargo e-bike packed with cargo standing next to lake

You can score Heybike’s single or dual-battery Hauler cargo e-bikes with $500 savings at lows starting from $999

Heybike’s Prime Day Sale may be well-past over, but there are still some ongoing discounts on its lineup of e-bikes, with the Hauler Cargo single-battery e-bike still sitting at $999 shipped, and its dual-battery counterpart also staying put at $1,399 shipped. These two variations would usually go for $1,499 and $1,899 were they at full price, with discounts regularly keeping the costs down at $1,199 and $1,599 over the last year. This $999 low price first appeared during the brand’s Memorial Day Sale and repeated at the top of the month through Prime Day, though now we’re seeing it hold all this time after for a longer window at the best price we have tracked to date, giving you $500 in savings.

If you want to learn more about this e-bike, be sure to check out our original coverage of this ongoing deal here.

Govee outdoor garden lights brightening up flower beds with color

Govee’s new Matter-ready Outdoor Garden Lights 2-pack washes flower beds with vibrant color at $150

Through its official Amazon storefront, Govee is offering its new Outdoor Garden Lights 2-Pack for $149.99 shipped, after clipping the on-page $40 off coupon, beating out the direct pricing from the brand’s website by $10. This all-new outdoor model hit the market back in June carrying a $200 price tag when at full price, with the few discounts we’ve seen in the time since having dropped costs to $177, $160, and the $140 low back during Prime Day two weeks ago. If you missed out on that low, you can pick it up here at the second-best price we have tracked, saving you $50 while bringing ambient lighting moods to your garden/outdoor space.

If you want to learn more about this new outdoor lighting device, be sure to check out our original coverage here.

EcoFlow RIVER 3 power station sitting on table with various appliances and devices plugged into it

Prime Day pricing returns to EcoFlow’s compact RIVER 3 LiFePO4 power station at $189

By way of its official Amazon storefront, EcoFlow is offering returning Prime Day rates for its RIVER 3 Portable Power Station at $189 shipped. Normally going for $239 at full price, which is where the brand currently has it positioned on its direct website, we saw this same rate pop up for the Prime Day event two weeks ago. While we’ve seen it go lower in the past, you’re still looking at a solid 21% markdown that cuts $50 off the tag, giving you a compact means to keep your personal devices topped off.

If you want to learn more about this particular power station, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

woman clearing leaves in yard with Greenworks 60V 700 CFM cordless leaf blower

Clear away debris with up to 700 CFM force through this Greenworks 60V cordless leaf blower kit at $210

Amazon is now offering the Greenworks 60V 700 CFM Cordless Electric Leaf Blower with a 5.0Ah battery and rapid charger at $210.09 shipped. Normally, this package would run you $300 at full price, which is where the brand’s website currently has it listed at. The discounts we’ve seen on this newer model have mostly kept costs above $233, though we have seen falls further to $219, $210, and the $205 low before. You’re looking at the second-lowest of those rates, which gives you a powerful blower to clear your yard of debris with $90 in savings.

If you want to learn more about this leaf blower’s capabilities, be sure to check out our original coverage on this deal here.

man cleaning patio with Worx Nitro 20V Hydroshot portable electric pressure washer

Worx’s Nitro 20V Hydroshot electric pressure washer tackles light-duty jobs anywhere at a $140 low (Today only)

As part of its Deals of the Day, Best Buy is offering the Worx Nitro 20V Hydroshot Electric Pressure Washer at $139.99 shipped, with it also matching in price at Amazon. Normally going for $210 at full price, discounts over 2025 have seen quite a few returns to the $140 low, which is coming back around here for the rest of the day. You’ll be saving $70 while the deal lasts, giving you the best price we have tracked on one of the most portable electric pressure washing options on the market.

If you want to learn more about this portable outdoor cleaner, be sure to check out our original coverage of this one-day-only deal here.

Woman trimming tree with Greenworks 80V 26-inch cordless hedge trimmer

For today only, pick up Greenworks’ 80V 26-inch cordless hedge trimmer kit at $175

As part of its Deals of the Day, Best Buy is offering the Greenworks 80V 26-inch Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmer with 2.0Ah battery at $174.99 shipped, which is beating out the pricing we’re seeing from Amazon by $14, as well as the brand’s direct website, where it’s sitting at full price. This model usually carries a $240 to $250 price tag without any cuts, which we’ve seen keep above $190 since mid-April. While things have gone as low as $168 in the past, you’re looking at up to a solid $75 markdown at the third-lowest price we have tracked through the rest of the day, which even beats out its Prime Day pricing, when we saw it at $189.

If you want to learn more about this hedge trimmer, be sure to check out our coverage of this one-day-only deal here.

Best Summer EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.

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It took years, but electric mountain bikes are finally more affordable

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2 hours ago

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July 23, 2025

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It took years, but electric mountain bikes are finally more affordable

aventon ramblas

Electric mountain biking has long been one of the most exciting – and most expensive – corners of the micromobility world. Riders get to explore rugged trails, climb hills that would leave most lungs gasping, and experience the rush of mountain biking with a little extra electric assist. But for many, the cost of entry has felt more like a brick wall than a welcome gate. Until now.

For years, if you wanted a capable, safe, and trail-ready electric mountain bike, you had to be ready to shell out $4,000 or more. And that’s just to get started. Some of the nicest electric mountain bikes I’ve ridden cost over $8,000. And to be fair, those prices weren’t just marketing fluff – real electric mountain bikes come with serious hardware: quality mid-drive motors for optimal weight distribution and torque delivery, high-end suspension systems to soak up the rough stuff, rugged shifters and derailleurs that can handle being pushed hard (or pushed into a tree), and hydraulic brakes that can stop you quickly and repeatedly, even on steep descents.

But the price tags have made the sport feel out of reach for a lot of riders who might otherwise love to hit the trails.

That’s finally beginning to change, thanks to a new wave of direct-to-consumer (D2C) electric bike brands that are offering true eMTBs at significantly lower prices. Companies like Ride1Up and Aventon are leading the charge, proving that you don’t have to choose between affordability and performance.

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Their latest models, like the Ride1Up TrailRush launched earlier this week and the Aventon Ramblas launched last year, are both mid-drive, trail-capable electric mountain bikes with serious hardware, and they come in well under that $4,000 psychological ceiling.

Ride1Up TrailRush electric mountain bike

Let’s start with Ride1Up’s new TrailRush. At $2,095, this is the company’s first true electric mountain bike, and they clearly didn’t want to just slap knobby tires on one of their hot-selling commuter e-bikes and call it a day. The TrailRush features a powerful German-made Brose mid-drive motor that delivers smooth, high-torque performance right where you want it — through the crank, not just at the hub of the rear wheel. That matters a lot when you’re tackling technical climbs or navigating twisty singletrack, where balance and responsiveness are everything and you want to make full use of your wide range of gears. Speaking of which, it’s outfitted with a 10-speed Shimano Deore M6000 derailleur, not the cheaper Altus or even Acera we often see on D2C e-bikes.

The TrailRush also comes with a 504 Wh battery, which offers enough range for a decent amount of trail riding (and probably gives you more range than you’d think since there’s no throttle to sap up all the juice at once). It also has a high-end Rockshox air suspension fork, a dropper post, and powerful quad-piston hydraulic brakes.

Are these the top-shelf components you’d find on a $7,000 Specialized or Trek? No. But they’re well above the bargain-bin level and more than capable of the kind of riding most recreational and moderately technical riders are doing. Ride1Up’s approach hits that sweet spot: durable, real-world trail performance at a price that opens the door for a lot more riders.

Aventon Ramblas electric mountain bike

Then there’s the Aventon Ramblas, which launched last year and comes in at a current sale price of $2,599 (or MSRP of $2,899). It’s a hardtail eMTB with Aventon’s own A100 mid-drive motor system, putting out 250W nominal and 750W peak. The 100 Nm of torque is around 10% higher than the Brose motor on the Ride1Up TrailRush, and the 708 Wh battery is around 40% larger.

The Ramblas is also outfitted with a RockShox suspension fork, SRAM 12-speed NX Eagle derailleur, and SRAM DB8 quad-piston hydraulic disc brakes — again, solid components that show this is a real mountain bike, not just a trail-styled city bike.

Importantly, both of these bikes eschew the cheaper rear hub motors often found on budget “eMTBs” that aren’t truly designed for more rigorous off-road use. Rear hub motors work great for commuting or cruising, but for more technical trail riding, you need a mid-drive motor for better weight distribution, improved climbing performance, and the ability to use the bike’s gears effectively. That used to be a non-negotiable feature found only on expensive bikes. Now, it’s finally making its way to more accessible price points.

What’s changed? A lot of it comes down to the direct-to-consumer model. Unlike traditional bike shop brands that go through layers of distribution, D2C companies ship directly to customers, cutting out the middlemen and passing the savings along.

That doesn’t mean there’s no tradeoff. With a D2C ordered from the internet and shipped straight to your door, you won’t get in-person service or a test ride at your local shop. But for a lot of riders, especially younger or tech-savvy ones, that’s a trade they’re willing to make.

However, many D2C companies now use a hybrid model where they partner with hundreds of independent bike shops all over the US, meaning the same e-bike you’re looking at online may be sitting in a bike shop down the road from you, ready for a test ride. Being able to purchase these bikes locally means also having service and support options right in your own backyard.

aventon ramblas

The D2C model also allows these brands to iterate quickly, respond to trends, and deliver compelling value without the legacy overhead of the big players. The result is a growing field of legitimately capable electric mountain bikes that cost half as much as the traditional competition.

Of course, high-end eMTBs still have their place. No one is saying that a TrailRush or a Ramblas is going to hold a candle to a Santa Cruz. If you’re bombing downhill runs every weekend, competing in enduro races, or just want the absolute best gear money can buy, there’s still a strong case for the $6,000-and-up segment. But for everyone else, the weekend warriors, the trail-curious, and the riders who just want to explore their local parks and backcountry routes with a bit of a boost, these new mid-range options are a game changer.

Electric mountain biking is finally becoming something closer to a people’s sport. With models like the TrailRush and Ramblas proving that solid performance doesn’t have to come with sticker shock, the trail just got a little more welcoming.

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