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As we trend toward more renewables and distributed energy resources (DERs), the design of the electric distribution system itself imposes physical limitations. These system constraints could lead to issues like overloaded power lines and faults that propagate freely.

But what if we could restructure the underlying system to support greater renewable integration and system resilience? To that end, a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)–led project is working on a new type of grid device enabled by silicon carbide (SiC) switches and other medium voltage (MV) power electronics that could segment sections of the grid, providing advanced control for flexibility and resilience for our power systems.

The project team is first designing a megawatt-scale prototype converter that provides native “back-to-back” conversion — AC to AC power — at distribution voltages (i.e., not requiring transformers to step down voltage to levels typically used in electronic power conversion). By using MV SiC-based power modules, the converters could be 1/5th the size and 1/10th the weight of alternate equivalent systems, which are trailer-sized and include heavy transformers. Then the team will connect the power converter into NREL’s MV testbed to validate new grid control approaches that the prototype enables.

The project is named “Grid Application Development, Testbed, and Analysis for MV SiC (GADTAMS)” and is funded by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office.

The NREL-led GADTAMS project is developing and demonstrating smaller and lighter alternatives for direct medium-voltage connections on the grid, which could enable new resilient grid architectures.

“With back-to-back converters between feeders, we can go one step higher in providing resilience across the distribution system,” said Akanksha Singh, a project lead at NREL.

“This technology wasn’t necessary before because we didn’t have so many distributed energy resources on the system, but now we have feeders that are becoming saturated with PV; apart from storage, these feeders don’t have anywhere to inject that excess power,” Singh said. “A new approach to grid interconnection could enable advanced forms of power sharing and provide much-enhanced grid resilience.”

A future grid that features such converters would have the capability to control the flow of power between sections of the grid, shunting excess load or DER-based generation to feeder sections or adjacent circuits as needed, adding new versatility to power distribution. Networked microgrids could protect against the propagation of faults from one microgrid to the next while still allowing controlled power dispatch between the two systems and the macrogrid as well.

During outage recovery, microgrids could be formed that then stabilize neighboring microgrid systems, as envisioned in NREL’s autonomous energy systems research. In general, the two sides of the converter do not need to be synchronized in frequency or even exact voltage level at all — a major shift from the modern power system. But prior to proving any of these applications, NREL and others will first need to build the necessary controls.

“We are developing very novel controls for upcoming grid architectures,” Singh said. “We have local controls on inverters, and we have hierarchical controls that coordinate between grid partitions. With regard to grid support, these controls can do it all: dynamic stability, frequency support, black start, fault ride-through and protection.”

Unlike anything currently available, the NREL testbed provides an environment to validate medium-voltage grid solutions with real power hardware-in-the-loop and real-time grid simulation. For this project, NREL and partners are interested in the full range of use cases for back-to-back SiC converters and have teamed with utility Southern California Edison to inform on utility applications, as well as industry partners General Atomics and Eaton to seek out a commercial path for the technology.

The SiC converter is being built in two halves by project partners Ohio State University and Florida State University. The three-phase converter prototype will be rated for 330 kW and will implement a full thermal and electrical design appropriate for utility use. Traditionally, the same AC-to-AC conversion process requires stepping-down the voltage to low-voltage levels where conventional power electronics can be used, which results in heavy and expensive transformer equipment. The MV SiC option takes advantage of the superior voltage ratings of devices to minimize weight, cost, and size, which makes the technology far more practical and economical for system-wide deployment.

Still, the converter technology is only one aspect of fulfilling flexible interconnections. This framework currently lacks the standardization that exists for so many other recent grid innovations. At NREL, the project team hopes to collect baseline operational data to jumpstart the conversation around how to integrate MV converters in future grids.

“This is a new application that doesn’t exist anywhere yet. We need standards that apply to how the converters can integrate with regular system operation, like starting up, syncing to the grid, etc.,” Singh said. “We are using IEEE Standards 1547 and 2030.8 as a base, interpreting their rules to implement new controls on MV systems. We are trying to merge the two to understand what will apply to this new approach.”

An entirely new grid architecture and operational flexibility could seem far-out for now, but NREL and partners are showing that these options are viable in the near-term and that NREL has the capability to prepare these solutions for real systems. Learn more about how NREL can validate advanced energy systems at scale.

Article courtesy of NREL.

 

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Tesla is bleeding AI talent to a small new robotics start-up

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November 24, 2025

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Tesla is bleeding AI talent to a small new robotics start-up


Tesla’s AI and robotics divisions are facing a significant “brain drain” as a stealth startup called Sunday Robotics emerges with a roster of engineers from Tesla’s Optimus and Autopilot teams.

We are used to seeing Tesla executives leave, especially to other AI giants, as the competition ramps up and large compensation packages are being thrown around left and right.

However, this feels different. Sunday Robotics isn’t a Fortune 500 company poaching Tesla engineers with big packages. It is a tiny startup that just came out of stealth with a funding round that would be a rounding error in Tesla’s financials.

Sunday Robotics officially emerged from stealth today, announcing $35 million in funding led by Benchmark and Conviction.

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The startup, founded by Stanford roboticists Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi (Zhao previously interned at Tesla Autopilot), has recruited an impressive bunch of senior Tesla engineering leadership.  

The list of departures includes:

  • Nishant Desai: an almost 5-year veteran at Tesla’s machine learning team working on Autopilot and FSD.
  • Nadeesha Amarasinghe: The former Engineering Lead for AI Infrastructure at Tesla. He was responsible for the massive backend systems that train FSD and Optimus. He was at Tesla for moer than 7 years.
  • Perry Jia: A key engineer on the Optimus and Autopilot programs. He spent almost 6 years at Tesla and led the data engine programs. Now, he leads Data Operations at Sunday.

This isn’t just random attrition. Sunday Robotics has effectively poached a “full stack” of robotic and AI engineers from Tesla.

They also recruited other employees from Tesla, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see more join, as Jason Peterson, a talent recruiter for Tesla’s Optimus and Robotaxi programs, confirmed that he also left Tesla in September to join Sunday.

What is Sunday Robotics?

So, what are these engineers leaving Tesla to build?

Sunday Robotics is taking a different path than Tesla’s general-purpose humanoid. Their debut robot, Memo, is a wheeled domestic robot designed for household chores such as cleaning dishes and folding laundry.  

By ditching the legs (Optimus is bipedal), Sunday claims they can focus entirely on dexterity and reliability. The robot is trained on a massive dataset of 10 million behavioral episodes, which the company claims gives it a “ChatGPT moment” for physical movement.  

The most interesting technical divergence from Tesla is how Sunday collects data.

Tesla relies heavily on VR teleoperation suits to train Optimus. Operators wear motion-capture suits and mimic tasks in a lab. It’s high-fidelity, but it’s slow and expensive. Tesla now claims to also train just on video.

Sunday Robotics has a different approach this with a $200 ‘Skill Capture Glove’. They distributed these gloves to hundreds of ordinary people (“Memory Developers”) who recorded themselves doing chores in their own messy homes.  

This allowed Sunday to crowdsource 10 million episodes of real-world data, messy kitchens, weird lighting, and cats jumping on counters at a fraction of the cost of Tesla’s teleoperation labs.

The gloves also reflect Memo’s much less complicated hands, which can make them more reliable and cheaper.

Electrek’s Take

Elon Musk is telling anyone willing to listen that Tesla is ahead of the competition when it comes to “real-world AI” and robotics.

He claims that Tesla will start producing Optimus robots in the millions of units starting next year and it will eventually “end poverty.”

Not many people who are serious about robotics take these claims seriously.

Many other companies are developing humanoid robots, and Tesla shows no evidence of being ahead of the pack, while there are still many obstacles to make them useful at scale.

A company like Sunday has a less ambitious but more realistic approach that could pay off, and it is convincing some Tesla engineers to jump ship.


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Arkansas turns on its first-ever utility-scale wind farm

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November 24, 2025

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Arkansas turns on its first-ever utility-scale wind farm

Crossover Wind Arkansas first wind farm

Photo: Cordelio Power

Cordelio Power’s 135 MW Crossover Wind farm is officially up and running in Cross County, Arkansas, west of Memphis, Tennessee. It is now officially the first operating wind farm in Arkansas.

“We are proud to announce that Crossover Wind is now generating electricity as the first utility-scale wind project in the state of Arkansas,” said Nick Karambelas, Cordelio Power’s chief development officer.

The project will deliver 100% of its power to Microsoft under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Independent power producer Cordelio says Crossover will pay about $950,000 a year to Cross County and more than $50 million to local landowners over the project’s lifetime without disrupting farming practices.

“We’re especially thankful for the strong collaboration from Cross County officials, landowners, and the broader community, which has been instrumental in bringing this project to life,” Karambelas added.

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M.A. Mortenson handled the construction, and Vestas supplied 32 US-made V-163 4.5 MW turbines. Vestas will also handle long-term operations and maintenance.

Cordelio acquired the project in late 2023 from Steelhead Americas, Vestas’ North American development arm, which started development in 2020.

Read more: Solar and wind are covering all new power demand in 2025

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Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 power station hits new $679 low + PowerCore Reserve at $80, Mammotion RTK robot mowers from $649, more

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November 24, 2025

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Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 power station hits new 9 low + PowerCore Reserve at , Mammotion RTK robot mowers from 9, more


We’re kicking off this week’s Green Deals with a continued Black Friday extravaganza – with this issue containing a mix of single-focus deals and massive roundups. Our headliner comes as part of Anker’s SOLIX Black Friday Sale, with the brand launching a 4-day flash sale on a small selection of power stations, including the latest SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station at a new $679 low. Right behind that, we have a nice array of Mammotion RTK Robot Lawn Mowers at some of their lowest prices at Amazon and Wellbots starting from $649, as well as Anker’s popular PowerCore Reserve 60,000mAh/192Wh Portable Power Station at $80. There’s also EV charging lows from Schumacher, a massive Greenworks Black Friday roundup, Best Buy’s collection of daily deals, and much more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals from last week that are collected together at the bottom of the page in our latest edition of Electrified Weekly.

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.

Anker’s 4-day SOLIX Black Friday flash sale drops latest C2000 gen 2 power station to new $679 low ($820 off)

As part of its expanded Black Friday Sale, Anker SOLIX is offering 4-day flash savings on four different bundles, three of which are keeping the same low prices while switching up the FREE gear you’ll be getting with them, while one is actually dropping costs lower than before. That latter deal mentioned is on Anker’s new SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station for $679.15 shipped, which also matches in price at Amazon. It’s been carrying a $1,499 price tag since launching at the end of October, with the discounts we’ve seen in its short time on the market having dropped costs to $799 and $749, until the brand’s Black Friday event first brought things lower to $699. Now, you can score it at an even better price, with $820 cut from the tag for a new all-time low rate. Head below for more on this unit and the others benefiting from this flash sale.

Not only does Anker’s SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 power station come as an upgrade from the legacy F2000 unit, but right now it’s even beating out that older model’s price by $120, making this deal all the better. This new model comes more compact and lighter than before with a starting 2,048Wh LiFePO4 battery capacity that can expand up to 4,096Wh with an expansion battery (which you can find bundled on the station’s landing page). There are 11 ports to choose from for your needs (5x AC, 3x USB-C, and solo TT-30R, USB-A, and car ports), with it providing 2,400W to 4,000W of max output when surging.

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There are six main ways to recharge its own battery, with an AC outlet or a gas generator putting it at 100% in 88 minutes, while utilizing its max 800W solar input gets you there in up to three hours. You can also use both AC and solar charging at the same time to hit 100% in up to 58 minutes, or if you’re driving, either use your car’s auxiliary port for up to 23 hours or the new 800W alternator charger for faster speeds.

Anker’s SOLIX Black Friday 4-Day flash sale offers:

As I mentioned, there’s the massive lineup of Anker SOLIX Black Friday deals that you can view here, with increased savings up to 70% off, free gifts, and more starting from $150.

father and daughter planting tree in yard while Mammotion YUKA Mini 500H robot lawn mower cuts grass

Upgrade your lawn care with up to 35% Black Friday savings on Mammotion RTK robot mowers from $649

During Amazon’s Black Friday Sale event, the official Mammotion storefront is offering up to 35% savings across various models of its robot lawn mowers, with prices starting lowest on the YUKA Mini 500H Robotic Lawn Mower at $649 shipped. You’d have to shell out $999 for this model at full price, which discounts have previously dropped to this same low rate twice before, while others kept costs higher at $779 or more. Picking one up here not only automates your lawn care routine, but you’ll be doing so with $350 cut from the tag at the lowest price we have tracked. Head below for all the other Mammotion robot models we’re seeing discounted for the holidays.

If you want to learn more about this model or browse the full lineup of offers we’ve collected from Amazon and Wellbots, be sure to check out our original coverage of these deals here.

anker powercore reserve power station on picnic table charging laptop and iPhone

As part of the ongoing Amazon Black Friday Sale, Anker’s official storefront is offering its popular PowerCore Reserve 60,000mAh Portable Power Station back at $79.98 shipped in both colorways, which matches the price we’re seeing directly from the brand’s website. Fetching $150 at full price and regularly seeing Prime exclusive discounts to $110, it’s during major events like Black Friday (as well as random windows throughout other months) that we often see it dip below $100 to either $90 or $80, with there having been a once-off drop to the $75 low back in July that hasn’t been seen since. You’re getting the opportunity to score it at the next-best price this holiday season, cutting $70 off the going rate and giving you quite the portable means to keep personal devices up and running.

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

Schumacher level 1 ev charger in trunk of car
Promotional image of Greenworks tools in large garage/warehouse
Best Buy Black Friday deals of the day featuring an e-scooter, lawn mower, more

Best Fall 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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