In what continues to feel like the ultimate tool hack, I’ve been running my electric tractor completely off-grid. I haven’t paid to charge it in months and it feels like I’m somehow cheating, always having the power of heavy machinery at my fingertips with absolutely zero fuel cost.
Here’s how I wake up to a full “tank” every day, for free.
Having an electric tractor has been incredibly useful on my family’s homestead where I keep it. It’s actually an articulating wheel loader, and so it does plenty of jobs beyond mere pulling tasks, including various material handling, hole digging for tree planting, trench digging, moving pallets and heavy equipment around, spreading mulch, moving compost, grading surfaces, etc.
Because it’s electric, I don’t have the major maintenance issues of a diesel tractor, and it’s just a lot nicer to use every day because it’s not loud, smelling of exhaust, or creating an uncomfortably hot working environment on days that are frankly already too hot.
On the other hand, I can’t just keep fuel cans around to instantly top it up whenever I want. With a run time of 4-6 hours per charge, it handles our needs but still needs to be charged back up regularly.
But as you can imagine, I don’t always want to rely on a wall outlet that is several acres away. As an alternative, I decided to create a charging shed out of a 20-foot shipping container.
I wrote an entire article on building the charging shed, so you can check that out for more details on the build on the build process. But to summarize, the container has 1,200 watts of solar panels on top that feed an 8 kWh battery bank inside it.
Compared to trying to build a new barn or install a prefab metal building, this shipping container is much, much cheaper.
The actual container cost me around US $3,000, and I just had to do the legwork of moving it out into the pasture by using a set of EZYwheels that let me tow the whole thing like a trailer (behind the tractor it would soon be charging, no less!).
Towing roughly 6,000 pounds (approximately 2,700 kg) across a bumpy pasture isn’t for the faint of heart, but it seemed to work just fine when you go slow and the ground isn’t too wet to get traction.
Once in place, the container creates both a place to store the tractor so it’s not out exposed to the elements and a place to charge it up during the day.
The total battery capacity of my wheel loader is actually slightly larger than the battery capacity in the container. There’s 8 kWh of storage in the container but 9 kWh in my wheel loader, though I never really run the loader all the way to empty so it’s easy enough to charge it just from my stored energy. And I never worry about not having enough charge left in the container because it is charging itself from the sun every day.
In strong sun, I can get over 800 watts of continuous charging into the container’s battery bank, though on cloudy days that can drop to just 100-200 watts. Fortunately, the 8 kWh is enough to hold me over on cloudy days, and it’s not like I’m using the tractor commercially. It gets a few hours of use each day, whenever we’ve got tasks on hand that require it.
I originally had a small portable air conditioner in the container to try and keep things inside from baking like an oven, but I found that the white paint of the container kept it from heating up too much in the sun. Plus the 1,500 W of power that the air conditioner was pulling was really chewing into my stored energy, depleting my battery bank overnight. Ultimately I decided to deep six the A/C and instead I will likely look at a smaller and more efficient mini-split in the future.
However, I still wanted to keep the container from getting too humid as a way to protect the various electric vehicles I park in there. So, in place of the A/C unit, I put in a single-room dehumidifier that pulls around 100 W from my container’s batteries. It works great to keep the humidity down but barely makes a dent in my battery bank’s charge level!
With this setup, I’ve created an entirely off-grid system where my electric tractor is always powered by solar energy. The tractor would already have been pretty cheap to charge from a wall outlet back at the house or garage building, costing around a dollar and a half to refuel it each time the batteries are empty. However, by using a solar-powered setup, now it’s basically free to charge (not including the initial expense of the solar setup, of course).
For me, this was never an exercise in trying to save money though, largely since the cost of charging electric vehicles at home is already so incredibly cheap. Instead, it was about creating a convenient way to charge and store these types of vehicles, and it allows me to also keep my e-bikes, e-scooters, and other e-tools out of the weather and fully charged up. For example, we just got an electric chainsaw and now I can run that off-grid as well.
In a pinch, I could probably use the container as emergency power after a bad storm, assuming the solar panels haven’t blown into the next area code (this was a DIY build and it’s definitely not hurricane-rated). And if so, at least the batteries will still hold a charge until they’re depleted!
This might not be the best solution for everyone, but it worked well for my use, creating dual purpose weather-proof storage and off-grid charging in a single structure. The system could obviously be scaled up or down for larger or smaller needs, and has the advantage of being highly customizable for different requirements. If someone only wants to keep their e-bikes charged up off-grid, a much smaller solar array and battery bank would be sufficient. For someone wanting to run their Tesla off-grid, a significantly larger system would be needed.
The sky is the limit. And it’s the energy source, too!
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The first electric Range Rover is expected to hit showrooms in the next few months. With its official debut just around the corner, Range Rover’s first EV was spotted testing in Sweden. Here’s a sneak peek of the luxury electric SUV.
Range Rover’s first EV put through the paces in Sweden
Range Rover is finally gearing up to introduce its first EV later this year. Earlier this year, JLR confirmed that the Range Rover Electric already has 57,000 buyers on the waiting list.
The company claims the new model “redefines” the electric luxury SUV with an “unrivalled driving experience.” To prove it, Range Rover is putting its first EV through the paces in sub-zero conditions in Sweden.
Range Rover’s electric SUV has been through 45,000 miles of testing across frozen lakes and land tracks. The latest round allowed engineers to test their new thermal management system.
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The company’s new ThermAssist thermal management system reduces heat energy consumption by up to 40% and is designed to warm the propulsion system or cabin in temperatures as low as ‑10°C (14°F).
Range Rover said it also helps optimize driving range while minimizing the impact of extreme temperatures on charging performance.
Combined with an 800V battery, the first one built in-house by JLR, the company promises the best possible performance, with optimized energy density, range, and charging times. The Range Rover’s first EV will be powered by a 117 kWh battery, consisting of 344 prismatic cells.
Built for both on- and off-road performance, the electric SUV features new additions like single-pedal driving and a switchable twin-chamber air suspension system.
Range Rover tested the single-pedal capabilities on both 28-degree and 17-degree split-mu inclines at its Arctic test facility.
Range Rover Electric prototype (Source: JLR)
Matt Becker, Vehicle Engineering Director at JLR, explained that the electric SUV maintains the brand’s signature driving experience “by marrying all the essential Range Rover elements with new and advanced technologies.”
Following its second season in Sweden, Range Rover will continue testing prototypes ahead of the official launch later this year.
After its first EV, Range Rover is already preparing another smaller electric SUV, which is expected to be the Sport model. In 2026, the company is expected to release a mid-sized electric SUV, likely the Velar.
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Volvo is launching a nearly $2 billion (SEK 18 billion) restructuring plan to drive growth and mitigate the impact of Trump’s tariffs. With the new EX30 and ES90 EVs rolling out, Volvo is taking drastic action to drive growth.
Volvo launches restructuring plan due to Trump’s tariffs
After its operating income fell by nearly 60% to SEK 1.9 billion in the first quarter, Volvo launched a cost and cash action plan.
The restructuring is worth SEK 18 billion, with most of it being realized in 2026. Volvo’s new strategy includes SEK 3 billion in variable cost actions and SEK 5 billion in indirect spend efficiencies. The additional SEK 10 billion will be added in cash actions to reduce working capital and capital expenditures this year and in 2026.
Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson said, “The automotive industry is in the middle of a very difficult period with challenges not seen before.”
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With “turbulence in the market,” Samuelsson added that the company needs to “further improve our cash flow generation and lower our costs.”
Volvo EX30 (source: Volvo)
To do so, Volvo is focusing on three areas: profitability, electrification, and regionalisation. Volvo is already leading the premium segment, with electrified vehicles accounting for 43% of sales in Q1. However, with new EVs launching, Volvo said more will need to be done to overcome the impact of Trump’s tariffs.
Volvo created a new region called Americas, which includes the US, Canada, and Latin America, to streamline its global operations.
Volvo EX90 electric SUV (Source: Volvo)
In the US, the company is looking to sharpen its product line-up and plans to boost production at its Charleston, South Carolina, plant.
Earlier this month, Volvo started production of the EX30 at its Ghent plant, which will help it ramp up deliveries in the second half of 2025.
Since it will be imported into the US, Volvo is bracing to take a hit from tariffs. Even the EX90, which is made in Charleston, is heavily impacted, as most components still come from Europe.
Volvo EX30 production at its Ghent plant (Source: Volvo)
Volvo also revealed the new ES90 last month, its new electric sedan and second EV built on the Volvo Cars Superset Tech Stack. It’s Volvo’s sixth fully electric vehicle following the EX90, EM90, EX40, EX40, and EX30.
In China, Volvo plans to adapt to the changing market with its first extended-range PHEV model, which will launch later this year.
Volvo said it remains “firm on becoming a fully electric car company.” Despite a weaker overall market, almost a fifth of the vehicles it sold in the first quarter were electric.
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In a warming world with increasingly extreme weather events, homeowners are turning to backup batteries for relief and peace of mind. But the backup only lasts only so long, and there’s a bigger problem at play: aging power grids.
Enter the virtual power plant, managed through a cloud-based system. It’s a fertile market for a number of companies as consumers look for more reliability, especially in areas prone to extreme temperatures and storms.
Base Power, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a virtual power plant and hardware company that provides battery backup to homeowners. The startup manages the batteries, and virtually controls the power that’s going in and out.
“We install our batteries on our customers’ homes. When the grid is up and running, we use those batteries to support the power grid,” said Base CEO Zach Dell. “When the grid goes out, our customers get those batteries to back up their home. We’re also able to save our customers on the order of 10 to 20% a month on their electricity bills.”
Unlike Tesla and Enphase, Base doesn’t sell home backup batteries. Rather, it rents the batteries to homeowners, providing the hardware, software, installation, operations and electricity. Essentially, it’s a battery-based energy company.
“We own and operate it,” Dell said. “We handle all the maintenance. We take care of the system like it’s ours.”
That control allows Base to manipulate how the battery is used, specifically accessing cheaper power and passing that savings on to the consumer. Base charges the battery from the grid when demand is low, typically during overnight hours. When demand is at its peak — summer evenings and winter mornings — Base sells power, discharging the battery to support the grid.
For an upfront fee of $595 and then about $19 a month, homeowners get access to reliable power, provided by Base. That power is generated by several sources, including wind, solar, natural gas and coal. About half of Base’s customers have solar, according to the company, which lowers their costs even more and allows them to sell that power back to Base.
A company spokesperson said Base compensates customers for the power they sell back, calculated as the real-time wholesale energy price plus an additional 3 cents per kilowatt hour. Buyback rates may vary depending on market conditions and other factors.
Base is now serving one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, Lennar, which is also an investor. Base installs batteries during the construction process in roughly 20 Lennar outage-prone communities in Texas.
Stuart Miller, Chairman and co-CEO of Lennar, said it’s not just about making money.
“It’s, are we going to be able to improve the overall stature of the home building business, as it seeks to address the markets that are stressed and having problems?” he said. “Utilities and electricity is a part of that.”
Base has raised a total of $268 million from investors including Lennar, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Andreesen Horowitz.
Base recently announced its first utility partnership near San Antonio. Dell said the company hopes to soon expand outside of Texas. However, the batteries are made in China, and Dell said he expects to see an impact from tariffs.
— CNBC producer Lisa Rizzolo contributed to this piece.