New Florida-built electric speedboat offers high power and solar charging
Blue Innovations Group (BIG), the electric boat startup founded by a former Tesla executive, has just launched its first electric boat. The R30 falls somewhere between an electric powerboat and a day cruiser, offering impressive specs in a spacious 30-foot (9.4 meter) package large enough for 12 passengers to relax in comfort.
As founder and CEO John Vo shared during the announcement, “The R30 will provide the ultimate boating experience for customers with uncompromised safety, performance, style, and value while being environmentally friendly.”
The BIG R30 is built in Florida, where the company is headquartered.
As Vo continued, “We are thrilled to launch the R30 in St. Petersburg, Florida, a community that has embraced our mission from the very beginning. The R30 is a testament to American innovation and the cutting-edge technologies emerging from the state of Florida.”
The boat is powered by a large 221 kWh battery pack that feeds a pair of 300 kW (400 hp) motors for a combined power output of 600 kW (800 hp).
The boat features an open terrace stern design with a semi-walkaround bow created by the offset control console.
In addition to a mains power charger, the R30 includes a foldout solar canopy that can provide up to 2.7 kW of charging power. The T-Top has an exposed solar array as well as two additional solar panels that can be extended to increase both the charging power and the available shade offered by the canopy.
Below deck is a cabin featuring a marine bathroom, kitchenette, and air conditioning.
The 30-foot (9 meter) boat features a 10-foot (3 meter) beam and has a height of 9.5 feet (2.9 meters).
Displacing 10,000 lb. (4,500 kg), the boat is targeting a top speed of 39 knots (45 mph or 72.4 km/h) and a run time of eight hours, though it is not clear at what cruising speed that eight-hour runtime is measured. As we’ve seen in smaller craft, an electric boat’s runtime can vary from an hour to multiple days depending on cruising speed.
With deliveries expected to commence in Q3 2024, reservations are now open for the R30. The electric boat currently carries an estimated price of US $300,000, which puts it in line with several other flagship electric boats in the market.
Customers can reserve an R30 for US $1,000 with a “BLUE Reservation” that offers standard delivery, or can dig a bit deeper into their pocketbook for $5,000 to snag a “BIG Reservation” that comes with priority access to one of the first 100 boats produced by the company.
The company explained that after the first 100 boats go to BIG reservations, “50% of our production capacity will be split between between BIG and BLUE reservations.”
Several new electric boats in the 25- to 30-foot segment have hit the market over the last few years, but many come from Scandinavian boat makers like Candela and X Shore. BIG would be one of the first US electric boat builders to offer a comparable product in this category.
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Turning cheap daytime solar into electricity you can actually use at night just got a lot cheaper. A new analysis from energy think tank Ember shows that utility-scale battery storage costs have fallen to $65 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of October 2025 in markets outside China and the US. At that level, pairing solar with batteries to deliver power when it’s needed is now economically viable.
Battery storage costs have fallen dramatically over the past two years, and the decline continues. Following a steep decline in 2024, Ember’s analysis indicates that prices continued to fall sharply again in 2025.
The findings are based on real-world data from recent battery and solar-plus-storage auctions in Italy, Saudi Arabia, and India, as well as interviews with active developers across global markets.
According to Ember, the cost of a whole, grid-connected utility-scale battery storage system for long-duration projects (four hours or more) is now about $125 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as of October 2025. That figure applies to projects outside China and the US. Core battery equipment delivered from China costs around $75/kWh, while installation and grid connection typically add another $50/kWh.
Those lower upfront costs have pushed down the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) to just $65/MWh. Ember’s calculation reflects real-world assumptions around financing costs, system lifetime, efficiency, and battery degradation.
Cheaper hardware isn’t the only reason storage costs are falling. Longer battery lifetimes, higher efficiencies, and lower financing costs, helped by clearer revenue models such as auctions, have all contributed to the sharp drop in LCOS. Ember has published a live calculator alongside the report, allowing users to estimate LCOS using their own assumptions.
Why this matters comes down to how solar is actually used. Most solar power is generated during the day, so only a portion needs to be stored to make it dispatchable. Ember estimates that if half of daytime solar generation is shifted to nighttime, the $65/MWh storage cost adds about $33/MWh to the cost of solar electricity.
With the global average price of solar at $43/MWh in 2024, adding storage would bring the total cost to about $76/MWh, delivering power in a way that better matches real demand.
As Ember global electricity analyst Kostantsa Rangelova put it, after a 40% drop in battery equipment costs in 2024, the industry is now on track for another major fall in 2025. The economics of battery storage, she said, are “unrecognizable,” and the industry is still adjusting to this new reality.
“Solar is no longer just cheap daytime electricity; now it’s anytime dispatchable electricity. This is a game-changer for countries with fast-growing demand and strong solar resources,” Rangelova added.
Together, solar and battery storage are increasingly emerging as a scalable, secure, and affordable foundation for future power systems.
Read more: EIA: Solar + storage soar as fossil fuels stall through September 2025
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss a very telling Tesla Optimus fail, Rivian’s AI/Autonomy day, Mercedes GLB EV, and more.
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Nissan is reviving the Xterra, the rugged SUV that once attracted a cult-like following, but this time it will be “electrified.”
The Nissan Xterra will be electrified, but by how much?
Earlier this year, Nissan offered a sneak peek of its upcoming lineup in a shadowy image previewing several new vehicles.
Alongside the new 2026 LEAF, a plug-in hybrid Rogue, updated Pathfinder, and Sentra, Nissan teased a new electric “adventure-focused SUV,” which we later learned will be badged the Xterra.
The rugged electric SUV appeared to have a more upright, boxy stance than the original model. The previous Xterra attracted a cult-like following as a cheaper off-road alternative to the Toyota 4Runner, Ford Bronco, and Jeep Wrangler.
However, Nissan discontinued it after the 2015 model year as buyers opted for more efficient options like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.
The new Xterra, but this time “it will have to have electrification,” according to Nissan Americas chief planning officer, Ponz Pandikuthira.
Pandikuthira told MotorTrend that the next-gen Xterra “cannot be ICE only,” but just how electrified it will be remains up in the air. “Is that an EREV? Is that a parallel hybrid system? Is that a plug-in system? That’s not defined yet. That’s all being actively studied right now,” he explained.
Nissan plans to launch a series of new extended-range hybrid (EREV) vehicles based on its e-Power system. The e-Power system uses a gas-powered engine connected to a generator.
The generator feeds energy to the inverter, which charges the battery and electric motor. Since the ICE only charges the battery and does not drive the wheels, it benefits from the instant torque and smooth drive of an EV.
However, it’s still powered by a gas engine at the end of the day. The 2027 Nissan Rogue will be the first e-Power vehicle in the US.
The Xterra could also arrive as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) similar to the 2026 Nissan Rogue. The 2026 Rogue will be Nissan’s first PHEV for the US and is expected to be a key part of its comeback plans.
It will go on sale in early 2026 with an EPA-estimated 36 miles of electric driving range. Combined with the gas engine, the hybrid powertrain provides up to 420 miles of EPA-estimated driving range.
The electrified Xterra will share a body-on-frame platform with the Pathfinder and Frontier, with a V-6 engine, all-wheel drive (AWD), and space for bigger batteries.
According to Pandikuthira, the V-6 will give it an edge over the competition, while the hybrid powertrain will improve efficiency.
The “electrified” Xterra will be built at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi, plant, starting in 2028. The following year, a luxury Infiniti electric SUV, based on the Vision QXe concept, will join it.
Electrek’s Take
While Nissan is launching new PHEVs, hybrids, and EREVs, it has already pulled one electric SUV, the Ariya, from its US lineup.
For now, the only fully electric vehicle Nissan offers in the US is the 2026 LEAF. Although it was once viewed as a leader in the shift to EVs with the initial LEAF launching in 2010, Nissan has quickly fallen behind and is now scrambling to catch up.
Nissan hopes to plug the gap with a series of gas-power hybrids over the next few years until new all-electric vehicles begin rolling out in 2028.
Even with less efficient hybrid tech, Nissan is still late to the game and will need to keep pace with Toyota, Honda, Ford, Stellantis, and others betting on hybrids in the US.
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