Meet BLUETTI’s new AC2A and AC70 – fantastic compact portable power

Published

1 year ago

November 4, 2023

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Energy storage leader BLUETTI has debuted its latest innovations just in time for your fun fall outdoor excursions – check out the AC2A and the AC70.

The cool, crisp air of fall pulls us outdoors, but before you head out for weekend camping trips, cozy cabin getaways, or tailgate parties, you need to bring a reliable and clean power source to keep your gadgets charged. Check out BLUETTI’s AC2A and AC70 below.

The AC2A – small but mighty

The AC2A weighs only 3.6 kg (7.9 lbs) and can be slipped easily into a backpack or carried one-handed with its built-in handle.

The toaster-sized battery packs a power punch – it delivers a 300 W AC output with a 600 W surge. It can charge up everything from phones and tablets to LED string lights, projectors, and CPAP machines. It has six ports, including a high-speed 100 W USB-C port.

When it’s time to charge the AC2A, it’s a breeze. You can plug it into a wall outlet for 270 W input, and it takes just 1.4 hours for a full recharge. Want to go off-grid and tap into the sun’s clean energy? Use the 200 W solar charging option that will recharge it in just 1.5 hours. The AC2A is energy efficient – it has BLUETTI’s lowest no-load loss at just 7.5 W.

The AC2A automatically stops charging when it’s fully charged, and if you use it until the batteries are dead, never fear – it will instantly activate when connected to a power source, ensuring you’re never left powerless.

The AC2A’s early bird price is just $179, and Electrek readers get a discount of $5 by using the code Electrek5. But this special price and discount are only being offered during the debut price period of November 2-17 – so don’t wait!

The AC70 – a mobile powerhouse

Meet the AC70, the upgraded version of the popular 716 Wh / 800 W EB70S. With a generous capacity of 768 Wh, it easily delivers during long road trips and emergency backup situations.

A 1,000 W continuous output with an impressive 2,000 W peak will keep anything from refrigerators and slow cookers to coffee makers humming. The AC70 can even run high-inductive-load appliances that typically draw 2,000 W, such as mini kettles, hairdryers, and small power tools.

What sets the AC70 apart is its flexibility in charging options and charging speed. You can juice it up through wall outlets, solar panels, car chargers, or generators.

As one of BLUETTI’s fastest portable power stations, it goes from 0-80% in just 45 minutes and achieves a full charge in a mere 1.5 hours via 850 W AC charging. Plus, with up to 500 W of solar input, it can be fully charged in just two hours with optimal sunshine.

The AC70 has an onboard charger that allows you to charge the unit directly from a wall outlet without the need for a bulky adapter. In addition, the AC70 can serve as a reliable backup power source with its UPS function, switching over in 20 ms. If you lose power while working from home or in a van, you can still be productive without missing a beat.

You can check the AC70’s charge and discharge levels, battery percentage, and more in real time on the BLUETTI App via Bluetooth. You can also use your phone to adjust settings like Power Lifting mode when you need a big boost of electricity and ECO mode to help conserve power when it’s not in use.

The AC70‘s early bird price is just $499, and Electrek readers get an extra discount of $15 by using the code Electrek15 during the same debut price period of November 2-17.

About BLUETTI

BLUETTI has been committed to promoting sustainability and providing green energy solutions since its inception. By offering eco-friendly energy storage solutions for both indoor and outdoor use, BLUETTI aims to provide exceptional experiences for our homes while also contributing to a sustainable future for our planet. This commitment to sustainable energy has helped BLUETTI expand its reach to over 100 countries and gain the trust of millions of customers worldwide.

Follow BLUETTI on Twitter here and on Facebook here.

Photos: BLUETTI

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Environment

Elon Musk Tapped to Lead New ‘DOGE’ Department—Despite the Government Already Having One for Efficiency

Published

5 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Elon Musk Tapped to Lead New ‘DOGE’ Department—Despite the Government Already Having One for Efficiency

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is to officially join Trump’s administration as the co-head of the new US Department of Government Efficiency – a second federal department with the goal of making government spending more efficient.

You can’t get more ironic than that.

Throughout the elections, Musk, who is already CEO of Tesla, and SpaceX, a well as the defacto head of X, xAI, Neuralink, and the Boring Company, has been floating the idea to add to his workload by joining the Trump’s administration to lead a new department aimed at making the federal government more efficient.

He has been calling it the “Department of Government Efficiency”, which spells out ‘DOGE’, a meme that Musk appears to enjoy.

Well, now Trump appears to want to be going through with this idea.

He announced the new department and Musk as head, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, in a statement today:

I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the “Save America” Movement. “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” stated Mr. Musk.

What’s most ironic is that there’s already a federal department with the goal of cutting government waste and ensuring efficiency: the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The GAO’s main objectives are:

auditing agency operations to determine whether federal funds are being spent efficiently and effectively;
investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities;
reporting on how well government programs and policies are meeting their objectives;
performing policy analyses and outlining options for congressional consideration;
issuing legal decisions and opinions;
advising Congress and the heads of executive agencies about ways to make government more efficient and effective

It sounds similar to what Musk described when talking about his DOGE, but Trump hasn’t gone into many details other than it will “cut waste.”

He also has a confusing message as he compares the initiative, which is supposed to cut government spending, to “The Manhattan project”, a massive and expensive government project.

Trump said that DOGE will help the government “drive large scale structural reform”:

It will become, potentially, “The Manhattan Project” of our time. Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of “DOGE” for a very long time. To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.

The statement also noted that DOGE will only operate until July 4, 2026.

Musk has previously claimed that he could cut at least $2 trillion dollars of the $6.5 trillion dollar US federal budget.

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Environment

Oil could plunge to $40 in 2025 if OPEC unwinds voluntary production cuts, analysts say

Published

6 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Oil could plunge to in 2025 if OPEC unwinds voluntary production cuts, analysts say

A pump jack in Midland, Texas, US, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.

Anthony Prieto | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Oil prices may see a drastic fall in the event that oil alliance OPEC+ unwinds its existing output cuts, said market watchers who are predicting a bearish year ahead for crude.

“There is more fear about 2025’s oil prices than there has been since years — any year I can remember, since the Arab Spring,” said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at OPIS, an oil price reporting agency.

“You could get down to $30 or $40 a barrel if OPEC unwound and didn’t have any kind of real agreement to rein in production. They’ve seen their market share really dwindle through the years,” Kloza added.

A decline to $40 a barrel would mean around a 40% erasure of current crude prices. Global benchmark Brent is currently trading at $72 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures are around $68 per barrel.

Oil prices year-to-date

Given that oil demand growth next year probably won’t be much more than 1 million barrels a day, a full unwinding of OPEC+ supply cuts in 2025 would “undoubtedly see a very steep slide in crude prices, possibly toward $40 a barrel,” Henning Gloystein, head of energy, climate and resources at Eurasia Group, told CNBC.

Similarly, MST Marquee’s senior energy analyst Saul Kavonic posited that should OPEC+ unwind cuts without regard to demand, it would “effectively amount to a price war over market share that could send oil to lows not seen since Covid.”

However, the alliance is more likely to opt for a gradual unwinding early next year, compared to a full scale and immediate one, the analysts said.

Should the producers group proceed with their production plan, the market surplus could nearly double.

Martoccia Francesco

Energy strategist at Citi

The oil cartel has been exercising discipline in maintaining its voluntary output cuts, to the point of extending them.

In September, OPEC+ postponed plans to begin gradually rolling back on the 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts by two months in an effort to stem the slide of oil prices. The 2.2 million bpd cut, which was implemented over the second and third quarters, had been due to expire at the end of September.

At the start of this month, the oil cartel again decided to delay the planned oil output increase by another month to the end of December.

Oil prices have been weighed by a sluggish post-Covid recovery in demand from China, the world’s second-largest economy and leading crude oil importer. In its monthly report released Tuesday, OPEC lowered its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast from 1.6 million barrels per day to 1.5 million barrels per day.

The pressured prices were also conflagrated by a perceivably oversupplied market, especially as key oil producers outside the OPEC alliance like the U.S., Canada, Guyana and Brazil are also planning to add supply, Gloystein highlighted.

Bearish year ahead for oil

The market consensus is that there’ll be a “substantial” oil stock build next year, said Citibank energy strategist Martoccia Francesco.

“Should the producers group proceed with their production plan, the market surplus could nearly double… reaching as much as 1.6 million barrels per day,” said Francesco.

Even if OPEC+ doesn’t unwind the cuts, the future ofl prices is still looking break. Citi analysts expect Brent price to average $60 per barrel next year.

Further fueling the bearish outlook is the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose return is associated by some with a potential trade war, said analysts who spoke to CNBC.

“If we do get a trade war — and a lot of economists think that a trade war is possible, and particularly against China — we could see much, much lower prices,” said OPIS’ Kloza.

Trump has also touted a “drill baby drill” policy for U.S. producers, vowing to cut energy prices in half.

For that to happen to retail gasoline prices, oil would need to drop to “below $40” per barrel, said Matt Smith, Kpler’s lead oil analyst.

Right now, retail gasoline prices are at a “sweet spot” at $3 per gallon, where consumers do not feel the pinch and input prices are still sufficiently high for producers, Smith added.