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SunPower has launched a new program, SunPower 25X25, which is aimed at increasing clean, renewable energy access in historically marginalized communities. Notably, whether inspired by it or just coincidental (I’d guess the former), this lines up perfectly with a new initiative from the Biden administration — the Justice40 Initiative.

Aside from bringing cheap and clean electricity to communities that have typically been ignored and forgotten, and the jobs that come with this distributed energy solution, it’s worth noting that this also expands SunPower’s market, bringing in new buyers.

The company writes that “its new justice, diversity, equity and inclusion (JDE&I) commitments designed to ensure the resiliency and economic benefits of distributed solar and battery storage serve American families, job-seekers and businesses that have been historically marginalized. The commitments include ambitious targets with initiatives to achieve them by 2025 — spanning workforce diversity, solar access expansion and dealer diversity programs.”

So, getting past the fluffy, happy talk, what are those targets? This is what SunPower wants to achieve by 2025:

  • 40% of its workforce represented by women; 25% of its workforce represented by Black and Hispanic/Latinx people
    • Emphasis will be placed on workforce development programs for the company’s growing residential installation teams across the country.
  • 25% of its U.S. residential customers made up by people who live in historically marginalized communities
    • Includes the development of a new program to provide low-income customers with no interest loans.
  • 25% of the dealers and subcontractors it works with owned by women and people of color
    • Includes establishment of a new dealer diversity program and creation of new partnerships with minority-owned business organizations.

As noted above, this lines up with Biden’s Justice40 Initiative. The Justice40 Initiative came out of an executive order signed by Biden in January 2021. “The order creates a government-wide Justice40 Initiative with the goal of delivering 40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities and tracks performance toward that goal through the establishment of an Environmental Justice Scorecard,” the White House wrote at the time.

“The order initiates the development of a Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool, building off EPA’s EJSCREEN, to identify disadvantaged communities, support the Justice40 Initiative, and inform equitable decision making across the federal government”

Later on, in July, the Biden administration’s Shalanda Young, Brenda Mallory, and Gina McCarthy wrote:

“Today, we are taking a key step toward achieving the President’s ambitious goal and issuing interim guidance that will help Federal agencies deliver on the Justice40 Initiative.

“The interim guidance issued today by the Office of Management and Budget, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy introduces measures to guide agencies on their path to implementing Justice40, launches the Justice40 Pilot Program, and includes accountability and transparency tools to ensure agencies are working to reach the Justice40 goal.

“The pilot identifies 21 priority programs to immediately begin enhancing benefits for disadvantaged communities. These priority programs will provide a blueprint for other agencies to help inform their work to implement the Justice40 Initiative across government.”

Note that part of that July announcement — one of the 21 priority programs — was the Rural Energy for America Program, “which provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements.” So, expect to see more solar in rural America when you’re there, in addition to growing clean energy access in marginalized urban communities.

SunPower notes that its new SunPower 25X25 program also helps the company to work toward its broader “diversity pledge.” SunPower “will report progress annually in its Environmental, Social and Governance report.”

“Black professionals working in solar services have roots, relationships and experience in all communities, particularly those disproportionately impacted by climate change. If the solar industry is going to provide renewable energy access and equitable job opportunities, actively engaging black owned businesses is vital,” said Walter McLeod, founding board member of Black Owners of Solar Services. “We commend SunPower for committing to creating an intentionally diverse dealer and subcontractor network and raising the bar for others in the industry to do the same.”

“Distributed solar and battery storage offer tremendous benefit to our environment, are vital in building a resilient energy infrastructure, can provide lower-cost electricity, and create good, well-paying jobs,” Peter Faricy, CEO of SunPower, added. “We must use this moment-in-time to ensure the rapid deployment of this critical technology benefits all Americans.”

If you’re used to seen Tom Werner make such statements and confused about where Peter Faricy came from, note that in March Werner stepped down from the CEO role after 18 years and passed on the duties to Faricy, who was formerly CEO of Global Direct-to-Consumer for Discovery, Inc., and spent 13 years at Amazon, including as VP of the Amazon Marketplace. “Under Faricy’s leadership, Amazon disrupted the digital sales channel, helping millions of small businesses sell their products directly to Amazon customers,” SunPower wrote in an announcement.

 

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China overhauls EV charging: 100,000 ultra-fast public stations by 2027

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China overhauls EV charging: 100,000 ultra-fast public stations by 2027

China just laid out a plan to roll out over 100,000 ultra-fast EV charging stations by 2027 – and they’ll all be open to the public.

The National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) joint notice, issued on Monday, asks local authorities to put together construction plans for highway service areas and prioritize the ones that see 40% or more usage during holiday travel rushes.

The NDRC notes that China’s ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure needs upgrading as more 800V EVs hit the road. Those high-voltage platforms can handle super-fast charging in as little as 10 to 30 minutes, but only if the charging hardware is up to speed.

China had 31.4 million EVs on the road at the end of 2024 – nearly 9% of the country’s total vehicle fleet. But charging access is still catching up. As of May 2025, there were 14.4 million charging points, or roughly 1 for every 2.2 EVs.

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To keep the grid running smoothly, China wants new chargers to be smart, with dynamic pricing to incentivize off-peak charging and solar and storage to power the charging stations.

To make the business side work, the government is pushing for 10-year leases for charging station operators, and it’s backing the buildout with local government bonds.

The NDRC emphasized that the DC fast chargers built will be open to the public. This is a big deal because a lot of fast chargers in China aren’t. For example, BYD’s new megawatt chargers aren’t open to third-party vehicles.

As of September 2024, China had expanded its charging infrastructure to 11.4 million EV chargers, but only 3.3 million were public.

Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles


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Two charged in $650 million global crypto scam that promised 300% returns

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Two charged in 0 million global crypto scam that promised 300% returns

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as “Main Justice,” is seen behind the podium in the Department’s headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Federal prosecutors have charged two men in connection with a sprawling cryptocurrency investment scheme that defrauded victims out of more than $650 million.

The indictment, unsealed in the District of Puerto Rico, accuses Michael Shannon Sims, 48, of Georgia and Florida, and Juan Carlos Reynoso, 57, of New Jersey and Florida, of operating and promoting OmegaPro, an international crypto multi-level marketing scheme that promised investors 300% returns over 16 months through foreign exchange trading.

“This case exposes the ruthless reality of modern financial crime,” said the Internal Revenue Service’s Chief of Criminal Investigations Guy Ficco. “OmegaPro promised financial freedom but delivered financial ruin.”

From 2019 to 2023, Sims, Reynoso and their co-conspirators allegedly lured thousands of victims worldwide to purchase “investment packages” using cryptocurrency, falsely claiming the funds would be safely managed by elite forex traders, the Department of Justice said.

Prosecutors said the pair flaunted their wealth through social media and extravagant events — including projecting the OmegaPro logo onto the Burj Khalifa, Dubai’s tallest building — to convince investors the operation was legitimate.

A video posted to the company’s LinkedIn page shows guests in evening attire posing for photos and watching the spectacle in Dubai.

Read more CNBC tech news

In reality, authorities allege, OmegaPro was a pyramid-style fraud.

When the company later claimed it had suffered a hack, the defendants told victims they had transferred their funds to a new platform called Broker Group, the DOJ said. Users were never able to withdraw their money from either platform.

The two men face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The Justice Department, FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations led the multiagency investigation, with help from international partners.

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Tesla forced to refund $10,000 FSD payment and 0% interest on Cybertruck

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Tesla forced to refund ,000 FSD payment and 0% interest on Cybertruck

Tesla is starting to experience some consequences for misleading Full Self Driving customers – at least that’s the finding of one arbitration ruling that has Tesla refunding one customer $10,000 plus legal fees for failing to deliver on their promises. Find out more on today’s legally challenging episode of Quick Charge!

An arbitration “court” found that Tesla misled customers with its Full Self Driving product, and has now been forced to refund at least one person’s $10,000 payment (plus legal fees) for the not-quite autonomous driving software. France, too, is piling on claims of deceptive business practices – but there’s some good news for FSD fans! If you’re still willing to pay for it, Tesla will thrown in 0% financing on a brand new Cybertruck.

Check out the relevant links, below, to learn more.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


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