Environment

It’s a table! It’s a solar power plant! It’s both!

Published

1 year ago

November 2, 2023

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You can generate clean power for your home with this “solar table power plant” and eat your lunch on it, too.

It’s a solar table power plant

German startup Technaxx’s 400 W plug-and-play solar table seats up to eight people. It can also feed electricity into a 230V household grid and cover a home’s base load during the day.

The preassembled microinverter allows for 400 W output, and the table’s monocrystalline solar panels have a module efficiency of 20.97% and 410 W maximum output.

The company says it’s ideal for terraces, balconies, and yards as long as it’s near an electrical outlet and can catch the sun. The table panel can be tilted to 20, 30, or 35 degrees for maximum energy generation. The table uses wifi to transmit data to an app that tracks its activity.

The solar table power plant’s daily power yield is 1.04-1.37 kWh, and its annual power yield is 380-500 kWh. And it’s easy to put together – only the legs need to be screwed to the table’s aluminum frame.

Technaxx sells some cool products in the US on Amazon, but unfortunately, this table isn’t one of them. The solar table power plant is currently only available in Germany for €951 ($1,009).

Electrek’s Take

If I needed an outdoor table and this was sold in the US, I’d likely buy it. Unlike an ordinary outdoor table, the solar table would eventually pay for itself.

It’s an innovative way to source clean energy and lower your electric bill, and it’s particularly great for folks with terraces and balconies who live in multi-unit dwellings and can’t get rooftop solar.

What do you think of this product? Would you buy it? Let us know in the comments below.

Photo: Technaxx

If you’re an electric vehicle owner, charge up your car at home with rooftop solar panels. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing on solar, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –ad*

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Environment

The US’s largest virtual power plant now runs on 75,000 home batteries

Published

1 hour ago

May 1, 2025

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The US's largest virtual power plant now runs on 75,000 home batteries

Sunrun just turned thousands of homes into the US’s largest virtual power plant to help keep the lights on in California this summer.

The company’s virtual power plant, CalReady, has more than quadrupled in size, linking together around 75,000 home batteries from over 56,000 Sunrun customers with solar + storage. As summer heat pushes California’s grid to the brink, CalReady is ready to step in with up to 375 megawatts (MW) of backup power, enough to power around 280,000 homes, the equivalent of all of Ventura County.

This massive battery network isn’t just about keeping homes cool during a heat wave. It also helps to lower electricity bills and cut pollution by sending clean energy back to the grid when needed most: between 4 and 9 pm, from May through October. That’s when demand spikes and fossil fuel plants usually kick in.

Sunrun CEO Mary Powell calls it a “customer-led energy revolution.” The idea is simple: homeowners can become part of the grid solution instead of depending only on giant power plants. And they’re getting paid for it. Customers in CalReady can earn up to $150 per battery for sharing their stored solar energy. Last year, Sunrun customers made over $1.5 million from the program. This year, they could bring in nearly $10 million.

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In 2024, CalReady enrolled over 16,000 households and pushed out an average of 48 MW to the grid during heat waves. Now, it’s expected to deliver 250 MW per two-hour event, with bursts up to 375 MW.

What makes CalReady special is that it doesn’t need new land or expensive infrastructure. It uses what people already have – solar panels and batteries at home.

“CalReady’s decentralized nature eliminates any potential single point of failure while offering greater resilience and flexibility for the state’s evolving energy needs,” added Powell.

Thanks to California’s growing rate hikes, more people are turning to solar and battery storage. By the end of 2024, over 60% of new Sunrun customers added battery storage to their solar systems; in California, that number was nearly 90%.

If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

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Environment

Block shares plunge 15% as company takes ‘cautious stance,’ issues weak guidance for year

Published

2 hours ago

May 1, 2025

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Block shares plunge 15% as company takes 'cautious stance,' issues weak guidance for year

Block shares plunge on revenue miss, slashed guidance

Block reported first-quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations on Thursday and issued a disappointing outlook. The stock tumbled 15% in extended trading.

Here is how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG.

Earnings per share: 56 cents, adjusted. That figure may not be comparable to estimates.
Revenue: $5.77 billion vs. $6.2 billion expected

Revenue decreased about 3% from $5.96 billion a year earlier. Gross profit rose 9% to $2.29 billion from $2.09 billion a year earlier. That missed analysts’ forecasts of $2.32 billion for the quarter.

Block provided weaker-than-expected profit guidance for the second quarter and full year, reflecting challenging economic conditions. A growing number of tech companies are warning investors about the rest of the year following President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs on imported goods last month.

“We recognize we are operating in a more dynamic macro environment, so we have reflected a more cautious stance on the macro outlook into our guidance for the rest of the year,” the company wrote in its quarterly report.

The company expects gross profit in the second quarter of $2.45 billion and $9.96 billion for the full year. Analysts were expecting $2.54 billion and $10.2 billion, respectively, according to StreetAccount.

In the first quarter, gross payment volume, or a measure of money moving through Square and Cash App, came in light at $56.8 billion, versus expectations of $58 billion, according to StreetAccount.

Cash App’s gross profit was a bit softer than expected. CFO Amrita Ahuja cited lower inflows and muted tax-season spending, but said the company expect a pickup later this year, in part because of the nationwide expansion of the Cash App Borrow program following regulatory approval.

While Wall Street is selling on the results, CFO Amrita Ahuja said Block delivered its most profitable quarter ever, which she said is “a reflection of the continued discipline across our business and the efficiency with which we operate.”

— CNBC’s Robert Hum contributed to this report.

Jeep’s new Compass EV just leaked: Is this the affordable electric SUV we’ve waited for?

Published

2 hours ago

May 1, 2025

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Jeep's new Compass EV just leaked: Is this the affordable electric SUV we've waited for?

Jeep is set to reveal the new Compass any day now. Ahead of its official debut, Jeep’s new Compass leaked online, showing several different variants, including an EV. Is this the affordable electric SUV we’ve been waiting for?

Jeep’s new Compass EV leaks ahead of global debut

We knew it was coming soon after Jeep teased the next-gen Compass for the first time last October. As part of its “Freedom of Choice” strategy, the new SUV will be available in fully electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants. It will also be offered with AWD on select models.

Jeep confirmed the global reveal would take place this Spring in Europe. The new SUV is based on the STLA Medium platform, the same one that underpins the Peugeot E-3008, Peugeot E-5008, and Opel Grandland.

Stellantis claims the platform offers “best-in-class” WLTP range of up to 435 miles (700 km). However, that’s for the Performance pack. The Standard pack provides 310 miles (500 km) WLTP driving range.

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With its debut this spring, we’re already getting a look at Jeep’s new Compass EV, thanks to images that leaked online. Although several sources claim to have released the new photos, they appear to be from the Brazilian website, Quatrorodas, revealing several new variants.

You can see the new Compass remains true to Jeep’s signature look with its traditional seven-slot grille, but there are a few updated design elements.

Like the Avenger, the new Compass has a revamped front end with vertical LED headlights and a closed-off grille. The backside features a new illuminated light strip with “Jeep” integrated into the middle. On one of the variants, the letter “e” is featured on the bumper, suggesting it’s the electric version.

Leaked images of the interior reveal a knob for different drive modes, a horizontal infotainment screen, and plenty of physical buttons below it.

Jeep will build the new Compass at its plant in Melfi, Italy. According to the report, it will also be manufactured in Brazil.

Although prices will be revealed closer to launch, the company said the new Compass will offer “affordable Jeep capability” across all powertrains. To give you an idea, the 2025 Jeep Compass starts at $26,900 in the US. In Europe, the 2025 Jeep Compass 4xe plug-in hybrid starts at €42,995 ($48,500).

Despite this, Stellantis froze all activities at its Brampton plant earlier this year, including work on the next-gen Compass. The pause comes as Stellantis reassesses what powertrain options to offer in North America.

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