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California’s first short-run electric ferry is expected to break waves in 2024 as part of a collaboration between Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and The Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry Company.

The Angel Island Ferry Service was established in 1959 with an already rich history in San Francisco. The company was launched by Milton McDonogh, son of “Sammy the Skiffman,” who would famously take vacationers to Angel Island on fishing excursions for $0.25.

Milton carried on the tradition, starting the service by converting an old Navy launch vessel with 50 person capacity. After business picked up, the official “Angel Island Ferry” was launched in 1975, designed specifically for the operation.

As time passed, San Francisco and the area became more popular among tourists, leading to a rise in demand for the ferry service.

The Angel Island Ferry is the company’s largest vessel, at 59 feet and with a 400-passenger capacity. It features two levels, two bathrooms, a galley with sinks and a coffee maker, table seating on the lower levels, and bench seating throughout.

With the growing demand for sustainable transportation, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is partnering with The Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry Company to convert the ferry to zero-emission electric.

electric-ferry-california-1
The Angel Island Ferry (Source: Angel Island – Tiburon Ferry company)

California preps for its first short-run electric ferry in 2024

The electric ferry expects to be the first zero-emission short-trip electric ferry in the Golden State.  

Captain Maggie McDonogh, fourth-generation owner and operator of The Angel Island ferry, is excited about going electric, saying:

We are very excited that The Angel Island will be the first of the short-run ferries in California to be 100% zero-emission, as our company continues supporting the natural environment of the Bay and our beautiful state park.

Green Yachts, a California-based electric boating company, will handle the conversion of the Angel Island ferry to electric propulsion.

Through PG&E’s EV Fleet Program, the partners also plan to boost electric transmission and EV charging infrastructure to support the transition, as the ferry will require significant power.

Graham Balch, a managing broker of Geen Yachts, explains, “An electric semi-truck requires 2 kWh to go one mile, and The Angel Island ferry requires 30 kWh to go one mile,” which could be a challenge, but they are confident they can get it done with sufficient fast charging.

Electrek’s Take

Although electrifying the marine sector has presented challenges, other companies, like Hydrofoil, have developed ways to do it with extremely low energy use (0.1 kWh).

The biggest challenge is moving that amount of people, but with the advancement in battery electric technology, there should be no issue getting it done. Once complete, the electric ferry will help protect the waters and community it serves with 100% zero emissions, setting an example for the rest of the nation’s marine transportation.

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The US wind industry’s 5-year outlook is now a total roller-coaster

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The US wind industry's 5-year outlook is now a total roller-coaster

The US wind industry installed just 5.2 gigawatts (GW) in 2024 – the lowest level in a decade, according to Wood Mackenzie’s new US Wind Energy Monitor report. Installations are expected to rebound in 2025, but the real concern lies in US wind’s sharply downgraded 5-year outlook. As for the reason behind that bleak forecast, we’ll give you one guess as to why, and it starts with a T.

Wood Mac reports that 3.9 GW of onshore wind came online last year, along with 1.3 GW of onshore repowers and 101 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind.

Onshore wind

The US is expected to achieve more than 160 GW of installed onshore capacity by 2025, and onshore growth is projected to bounce back from 2024 and surpass 6.3 GW this year.

“The cliff in 2023 and 2024 created by the Production Tax Credit (PTC) push in 2022 will come to an end,” said Stephen Maldonado, research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “Despite the uncertainty created by the new administration, the massive number of orders placed in 2023 culminating in projects now under construction support the short-term forecast.”

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The pipeline for onshore has 10.8 GW currently under construction through 2027, with another 3.9 GW announced.

GE Vernova led onshore wind installations in 2024 with 56% of the market and will continue to lead in connections for the next five years. It was followed by Vestas (40%) and Siemens Gamesa (4%).

Offshore wind

Offshore wind is projected to increase in 2025 as well, with 900 MW of installed capacity, up from a disappointing 101 MW in 2024. However, several projects have been shelved in the wake of Trump’s anti-wind executive orders, which downgraded the five-year outlook by 1.8 GW.

Electrek’s Take on US wind’s 5-year outlook

According to Wood Mac, 33 GW of new onshore wind capacity will be installed through 2029, along with 6.6 GW of new offshore capacity and 5.5 GW of repowers. However, due to Trump’s anti-wind policy and economic uncertainty, this five-year outlook is 40% less than a previous total of 75.8 GW. ​Growth will happen, but it’s going to be slower.

The main reason is Trump’s flourish of his Sharpie on executive orders that include “temporary” withdrawal of offshore wind leasing areas and putting a stop to onshore wind on federal lands. Plus, firing all those federal employees will likely make permitting wind farms a slower process. (Trump just wrote more executive orders today allowing coal projects on federal lands; he won’t have federal employees to issue permits for those, either.) He’s worked to throw up obstacles for wind projects in favor of fossil fuels. He won’t stop the wind industry, but he’s managed to get some projects canceled, and he’ll make things more of a slog over the next few years.

Read more: Coal is dead and Trump’s executive order won’t revive it


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BYD’s low-cost Seagull EV now starts at under $8,000 in China

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BYD's low-cost Seagull EV now starts at under ,000 in China

BYD’s cheapest EV in China just got even more affordable. After cutting prices this month, the BYD Seagull EV starts at just 56,800 yuan, or under $8,000.

BYD cuts Seagull EV price to under $8,000 in April

Despite an intensifying EV price war in China, BYD is cutting prices once again. The Chinese EV giant announced a new promotion this month across several Ocean Series models, including the Seagull.

The 2025 BYD Seagull EV is available starting at just 56,800 yuan ($7,800). The offer is for the non-Smart Driving Vitality Edition model, which usually starts at 69,800 yuan ($9,500).

After launching the new Seagull last year, BYD said the low-cost electric car officially opened “a new era of electricity being lower than oil.” Earlier this year, it upgraded most of its vehicles, including the Seagull, with its new “God’s Eye” smart driving system at no extra charge.

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BYD’s Seagull is offered in three trims in China: Vitality, Freedom, and Flying. It has two battery options, 30.1 kWh or 38.9 kWh, which is good for the 305 km (190 mi) and 405 km (252 mi) CLTC range, respectively.

BYD-seagull-EV-$8,000
BYD cuts vehicle prices in April 2025, including the Seagull EV (Source: BYD)

At just 3,780 mm long, 1,715 mm wide, and 1,540 mm tall, the Seagull is even smaller than the former Chevy Bolt EV (4,145 mm long, 1,765 mm wide, and 1,611 mm tall). It’s about the size of a Fiat 500e.

BYD-Seagull-EV-$8,000
BYD Seagull EV (Dolphin Mini) testing in Brazil (Source: BYD)

The price cut comes as BYD’s sales continue surging. With another 377,420 new energy vehicles (EVs and PHEVs) sold last month, the Chinese automaker has now sold over one million NEVs in 2025.

BYD’s EVs accounted for 416,388 while PHEV sales reached 569,710, an increase of 39% and 76% from last year, respectively.

BYD Seagull EV trim Starting Price Range
(CLTC)
Vitality Normal: $9,500 (69,800 yuan)
Now: $8,000 (56,800 yuan)
190 mi
(305 km)
Freedom $10,300 (75,800 yuan) 190 mi
(305 km)
Flying $11,700 (85,800 yuan) 252 mi
(405 km)
BYD Seagull EV prices and range by trim in China

Perhaps even more importantly, BYD sold over 206,000 vehicles overseas in 2025, more than doubling from last year. The Seagull EV is also sold in other global markets like Mexico and Brazil as the Dolphin Mini.

Later this year, it will launch in Europe as the Dolphin Surf, with expected prices starting under £20,000 ($26,000). Although it may not be the cheapest EV, BYD’s executive vice president, Stella Li, recently told Autocar it will be “the best value” when it arrives.

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Tesla already has new Model Y inventory available today in the US – demand is terrible

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Tesla already has new Model Y inventory available today in the US – demand is terrible

Tesla has new Model Y inventory available today in the US, just days after opening orders for what is supposed to be its most popular model.

This proves that demand is terrible and Tesla is trying to hide it.

On Friday, Tesla launched the new non-Launch Edition Model Y in North America.

Prior to the launch, only a fully loaded $60,000 Launch Edition Model Y was available to order since January, and had been delivered since early March.

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Now, North American buyers are able to buy a much cheaper version of the new Model Y for $49,000.

Only the Model Y Long Range AWD is available for now, but that’s Tesla’s most popular model in North America.

At the time, we noted that this is a great demand test for Tesla in the US amid some critical brand issues due to CEO Elon Musk.

We only have a few metrics to track the demand of the new Model Y in the US:

  • Delivery timelines on new orders
  • Available inventory
  • Discounts/incentives

For most US zip codes tested by Electrek with different Model Y configurations (wheels and paint colors), Tesla quotes delivery within “1-3 weeks”.

But we also found several zip codes on both the West Coast and the East Coast where Tesla claims it can deliver the new vehicle “today”:

This would point to Tesla already having vehicles in inventory despite launching it just 4 days ago.

But Tesla is hiding the inventory.

If you search for Model Y in Tesla’s new inventory, you can’t find any in the US at the time of writing:

However, Tesla is showing some units in inventory to people configuring new Model Ys.

Some potential buyers are reporting that Tesla has a tab that pops up and directs them to some new inventory available (via TroyTeslike on Patreon):

This confirms that Tesla already has new non-Launch Edition Model Y in inventory available for sale in the US – pointing to Tesla having no backlog of demand for the new vehicle.

Electrek’s Take

This is much worse than I thought. I thought that Tesla would build a backlog of demand for the new Model Y in the US from people who didn’t want the fully loaded version, but it looks like that backlog lasted 4 days.

Of course, it’s all because of Tesla and Elon, and brand destruction.

Many people who invested in the stock market lost a lot of money over the last few weeks, and these people often happen to be people who buy new cars.

Now, the only thing left is for Tesla to start offering discounts and subsidies financing – the latter likely coming first, as it is already the case with new Model 3 orders in the US.

The good news for Tesla is that if Trump continues to crash the stock market, the Fed will likely have to reduce rates, making Tesla’s 0% financing cheaper to subsidize.

That’s a fun balancing act.

Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tesla offer incentives on the new Model Y in the US within the next 2 weeks – way ahead of schedule.

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