After releasing the world’s first all-electric production RV, the Volterra, last year, American luxury travel trailer maker Bowlus says it will now become the first fully electric RV company.
Bowlus plans for an all-electric RV lineup
Bowlus changed the way we look at travel, releasing the first aluminum travel trailer in 1934, several years before the famed aluminum Airstream hit the market.
The RV maker has continued to innovate the industry with new productions and inventions like the first fully aluminum monocoque space frame, eliminating about half the weight of comparable-size RVs.
The new design would shape Bowlus’s future of providing the ultimate towing experience with a luxurious cabin for best-in-class comfort and adventure performance.
In 2016, the company launched the first lithium-powered RV with a 4 kWh lithium-ion power system that could supply up to a week of off-grid power and, for the first time, air conditioning.
Bowlus followed it up with the Volterra in 2022, deemed the world’s first all-electric RV. The Volterra features 17 kWh of power, AeroSolar solar panels, an induction cooktop, Starlink high-speed satellite internet, Emergency EV charging, and more advanced features to make the ultimate off-grid experience for a starting price of $310,000.
Bowlus Volterra electric RV interior (Source: Bowlus)
The RV maker revealed Tuesday it plans to become the first fully electric RV company with an entire lineup of EV models, including the Volterra, Terra Firma, and Heritage.
CEO of Bowlus, Geneva Long, who envisioned the transition to all-electric ten years ago, says:
Where most RV brands use old technology involving propane and gas or traditional batteries, we are making new ground, just like we always have. Picture yourself enjoying nature without the noise of a generator – it’s a fully immersive experience to be all-electric.
Long says the move “sets a precedent” for the industry to follow as the world moves toward a sustainable future.
Bowlus offers RVs with GVWR ranging from 2,500 lbs to 4,000 lbs depending on the model.
Electrek’s Take
Bowlus’s move to go all-electric follows a trend in the industry toward zero-emission alternatives that support the growing movement toward a sustainable future.
Airstream and Porsche teamed up to design a camping trailer “optimized for EVs” with a lightweight, aerodynamic design that can fit in your garage.
Meanwhile, all-electric RV startup Lightship revealed its L1 electric travel trailer designed to maintain the full range of the EV towing it (read more about the Lightship here).
The expanding wave of electric RV options is good news for EV owners and the environment, with efficient, sustainable alternatives for adventurers.
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Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
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The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
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Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
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Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
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Vietnamese solar panel maker Boviet Solar just opened the doors to its first US factory — a huge new PV module plant in Greenville, North Carolina.
The company dropped $294 million into the state-of-the-art facility, which will pump out Boviet’s Gamma Series monofacial and Vega Series bifacial solar panels. They’re using advanced PERC and N-Type solar cell tech, which basically means these panels are built to deliver higher efficiency and better performance across residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale projects.
The Greenville factory’s first phase is now online with an annual PV module output capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW). For Phase 2, which is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2026, Boviet will invest another $100 million to add 600,000 square feet and ramp up to another 2 GW. It will make high-efficiency solar cells.
Once both phases are complete, Boviet’s campus will cover more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and R&D space. It’s one of the biggest clean energy manufacturing projects North Carolina has ever seen.
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The jobs impact is significant, too. The first phase will create 460 skilled local jobs. Phase 2 is expected to add another 908, bringing the total to over 1,300 direct jobs, plus nearly 2,000 more indirect jobs across the region. That’s good news for Pitt County’s economy, real estate market, and workforce training programs.
“This facility is not just creating jobs, but creating opportunity, innovation, and a stronger foundation for eastern North Carolina,” said Senator Kandie Smith. Governor Josh Stein added that Boviet Solar’s move shows how North Carolina is leading the way in clean energy growth.
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