A worker builds frames for solar panels at First Solar in Perrysburg, Ohio July 8, 2022.
Megan Jelinger | Reuters
First Solar said Wednesday that it has selected Alabama as the site for its fourth U.S. solar panel manufacturing facility, after the Inflation Reduction Act and its incentives for domestic manufacturing encouraged companies to onshore production.
First Solar will spend around $1.1 billion on the facility in North Alabama’s Lawrence County. The company announced plans for a new facility in August, but hadn’t yet disclosed the location. First Solar CEO Mark Widmar previously told CNBC that the Inflation Reduction Act was the key catalyst that led First Solar to choose the U.S. for its latest factory.
related investing news
The new facility will produce 3.5 gigawatts of solar modules annually by 2025. The company said the site will create more than 700 new jobs.Â
All told, First Solar plans to manufacture more than 10 gigawatts of solar modules by 2025. The company’s other three facilities â one of which is slated to come online during the first half of 2023 â are in Ohio. With the latest Alabama factory announcement, First Solar said it’s invested more than $4 billion in U.S. manufacturing.
“The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has firmly placed America on the path to a sustainable energy future,” First Solar’s Widmar said in a statement Wednesday.Â
“This facility, along with its sister factories in Ohio, will form part of the industrial foundation that helps ensure this transition is powered by American innovation and ingenuity,” he added.
The U.S. solar industry now stands at around 126.1 GW, which is enough to power 22 million homes, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. During the first quarter of this year the country added 3.9 GW of solar capacity, according to SEIA.
First Solar is the largest U.S.-based panel manufacturer, and focuses on utility-scale panels. Shares of First Solar hit their highest level since April 2011 on Wednesday after the IRA reignited interest in renewable energy companies. Still, the company has faced some recent headwinds as rising rates prompt investors to rotate out of growth-oriented areas of the market.
But First Solar has held its gains, outperforming other solar stocks and the market broadly. Shares of the Arizona-based company have advanced more than 80% this year. By comparison, the S&P 500 is down 17% this year while the Invesco Solar Fund has added 6%.
Other solar companies, including SolarEdge and Enphase Energy, have said they are exploring manufacturing in the U.S. following the climate bill. Elsewhere in clean energy, battery maker Freyr and lithium miner Piedmont Lithium are among the companies that have announced new facilities.
Fleet electrification expert Tony Nisam took to LinkedIn yesterday to post a deal that he ran across at a Washington State Costco that stacks a $25,500 manufacturer rebate with $3,000 in âregularâ Costco Member Savings, $2,750 in âLIMITED-TIMEâ Manufacturer to Member Incentives, plus an additional $250 for Costco Executive members.
Do a bit of math (add up 25,500 + 3,000 + $2,750 + 250), and youâll calculate an almost unheard of $31,500 discount on one of the best, most capable commercial vans on the market â ICE or electric. And thatâs before you factor in the 0% interest financing (72 mo.) being advertised at Blade Chevrolet, the Mount Vernon, Washington, where VIN 2G58J2TY6S9104313 (the exact van shown, below) is shown as stock number 16757.
If youâre not a Costco member yet and youâre looking for a new truck for your business or even a unique #vanlife ride with zero emissions, modern tech, and a nationwide dealer network, GM makes that $130 Executive membership seem like a no-brainer.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Kind of a big deal
âBut wait,â says the floating, disembodied ghost of the great Billy Mays. âThereâs more!â In addition to the $31,500 worth of discounts Costco Executive members get, there are deals to be had on chargersAND a number of other state and local utility incentives your business might qualify for, bringing the cost of adding a new Chevy Brightdrop to your fleet even lower. In northern Illinois, for example, ComEd commercial customers can get up to $7,500 in rebates for a new Brightdrop Zevo van.
Is a $39,000 price cut enough to get you to take a look at a new Brightdrop? At $45,235 (from a starting price of $84,235), can you afford not to? Head down to the comments and let us know.
Tesla has quietly removed the Cybertruckâs range extender from the options in its online configurator.
Does Tesla still plan to bring the product to market?
When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck in late 2023, there were two main disappointments: the price and the range.
The tri-motor version, which was the most popular in reservation tallies, was supposed to have over 500 miles of range and start at $70,000.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Tesla now sells the tri-motor Cybertruck for $100,000 and only has a range of 320 miles.
As for the dual-motor Cybertruck, it was supposed to cost $50,000 and have over 300 miles of range. The reality is that it starts at $80,000, and it has 325 miles of range.
However, Tesla had devised a solution to bring the range closer to what it originally announced: a separate battery pack that sits in the truckâs bed. Tesla called it a ârange extender.â It costs $16,000 and takes up a third of the Cybertruckâs bed.
Even though the Cybertruck has been in production for a year and a half at this point, the range extender has yet to launch.
At the time, Tesla also reduced the range that the removable battery pack adds to the Cybertruck to â445+ milesâ rather than â470+ milesâ for the dual motor â a ~25-mile reduction in range.
Now, Tesla has removed the option from its online Cybertruck configurator. It used to take reservations for the range extender with a â$2,000 non-refundable depositâ, as seen on the image above, but now itâs not in the configurator at all at the time of writing.
Itâs unclear if Tesla is not planning to launch the product anymore or if it is just pausing reservations.
In its specs page, Tesla still lists the achievable range of both versions of the Cybertruck with and without the range extender battery:
Electrekâs Take
Iâm curious. Is it dead, or does Tesla just want to stop taking reservations for it?
At first, I was curious about the product even though I didnât think it would make up for Teslaâs significant miss on Cybertruck specs.
However, after it was confirmed that it takes up 30% of your bed and that it needs to be installed and removed by Tesla at a service center, I think itâs pretty much dead on arrival at $16,000.
Itâs going to be a product limited to only a few people at best. And now thatâs if it makes it to market.
With the option being removed from the configurator, thereâs no production timeline available. Again, the last one was âmid-2025â, which is soon.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Memberâs Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Memberâs Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the companyâs âPower for Allâ fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows howâ with portable power solutions.
Source: EcoFlow
EcoFlow and its members look to provide âPower for Allâ
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its âPower for Allâ mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlowâs generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlowâs commitment to disaster response through their âPower for Allâ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the âPower For Allâ initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Memberâs Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the âPower for Allâ fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Source: EcoFlow
Save big and give back during the 2025 Memberâs Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the companyâs exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn âEcoFlow Power Pointsâ by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so youâll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlowâs âPower for Allâ campaign. To register for EcoFlowâs 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.