Tesla appears to be doubling down on its new “Oasis” Supercharger station concept, which consists of larger stations powered by solar and a microgrid battery system.

Although, this new one is a bit less ambitious.

Last month, Tesla announced its “project Oasis” (pictured above), which should become one of Tesla’s largest Supercharger stations with several pull-through stalls for trucks and trailers, but the real differentiating factor is a large solar array and battery system that enables the charging station to operate off-grid mostly.

CEO Elon Musk has been saying that the goal of the Supercharger network is to be powered by solar and batteries and mostly off-grid since 2016, but Tesla has yet to make this common.

The announcement of the Project Oasis gave us some hope that it might finally happen, and now it looks like Tesla is planning a mini Oasis.

Marco RP, who tracks Supercharger projects, reported on the new construction plans submitted for the Coalinga, California station:

The project is about 50 miles north of Project Oasis – also on Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

We call it a “mini Oasis” not because it has fewer charging stations than Oasis; it actually has the same number of planned stalls, 168 stalls, but because it doesn’t have as much solar and batteries to enable off-grid use.

Oasis has 11 MW of planned solar power and 39 MWh of energy storage.

This new project in Coalinga has less than 1 MW of solar and 15.5 MWh of energy storage. In the case of Oasis, the grid complements Tesla’s microgrid, and in this new project, it’s Tesla’s microgrid that complements the grid connection.

But Tesla could eventually expand its solar array and battery storage system at the new station.

This new station also includes restrooms, which Tesla has sometimes deployed at bigger stations.

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Renewables developer Exus Renewables North America is giving a $200 million upgrade to Somerset County, Pennsylvania’s 139 megawatt (MW) Twin Ridges Wind Farm – here’s why repowering projects like this are the future of the wind industry.

Wind energy repowering is all about breathing new life into older turbines or entire wind farms. By swapping out aging parts like turbines, blades, and nacelles for the latest tech, wind farms can see significant boosts in efficiency, power capacity, and overall lifespan. Other infrastructure and control systems can also get a second life, too.

Adding new components to existing infrastructure and grid connections mean it’s less expensive to extend the life of the wind farm with fewer resources. New components make the turbines less prone to breakdowns which means less maintenance, so there are fewer operational costs. Plus, a wind farm’s debt is usually paid off at around 10 years, and it qualifies for new tax credits and new financing at around that time. Existing wind farms often have power purchase agreements in place, and data companies are increasingly chasing power sources as demand grows.

Repowering Twin Ridges meant keeping all 68 towers and foundations while swapping out the nacelles and blades. Vestas, which has identified the repower market as a huge opportunity and engineered a solution that’s compatible with most turbines, supplied US-made nacelles, hubs, blades, and tower adaptors for the project. (Twin Ridges’ original supplier, RES, is no longer in business.)

Jim Spencer, CEO of Exus Renewables North America, said of Twin Ridges, “This upgrade will increase the power generation by 30%, which is a lot more power going into the grid. Repowering will allow it to use more of its allotted grid capacity since wind farms don’t operate at maximum capacity 100% of the time.”

Unlike a new wind farm, which comes online all at once, a repowered wind farm sees refurbished turbines turned on one at a time since the infrastructure is already in place. Out of its 68 upgraded turbines, Twin Ridges has brought 40 repowered turbines online, and a 41st turbine will soon follow.

Industry estimates suggest that up to 50 GW of US onshore wind capacity will be assessed for repowering in the next few years.

Read more: Renewables now make up 30% of US utility-scale generating capacity

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Honda is set to introduce a full line of battery electric walk-behind consumer and zero turn electric riding lawnmowers to its US power equipment dealers for 2025.

Gas-powered lawn equipment is horrible for public health — so much so that a single two-strike leaf blower can produce significantly more harmful carbon emissions than a conventional car. That’s why a growing number of cities and states have passed regulations restricting the use of gas-powered lawn equipment.

As our own Jamie Dow put it, “It’s important to mention how horrendous gas lawn equipment is all the time, and how it’s often possible to get electric stuff for cheap because air quality districts know this is some of the lowest hanging fruit. The issue is that ‘small off-road engines‘ (SOREs) usually don’t include any sort of pollution controls, and are often dirtier two-stroke engines that create more power in a small package, but emit orders of magnitude more pollution in the form of unburned particulates from the incomplete combustion process they undergo when compared to four-stroke engines.”

With that in mind, then, we have to consider the recent announcement that Honda will be offering its battery electric HRX, HRN, and HRC walk-behind consumer lawn mowers and a zero-turn-radius (ZTR) commercial electric riding lawn mower at select Honda Power Equipment dealers nationwide in 2025.

Honda electric lawn mower line

That’s bigger news than you might think, too. That’s because Honda actually stopped producing new lawn mowers in 2023 amid tightening emissions regulations amid shifting customer preferences. The new battery-powered lineup will, therefor, re-establish Honda dealers as full-line outdoor power equipment (OPE) stores while, at the same time, supporting the company’s electrification vision.

“With the new line of Honda battery-powered lawn mowers, we will deliver the exceptional ownership experience that our customers have come to expect while providing lawn care options for a variety of users, conditions and applications,” says Mark Kohls, vice president of Honda Power Sports & Products at American Honda. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is only part of the challenge, as battery-powered power products must meet Honda standards for rugged performance, ease of use and comfortable operation to meet the high expectations of our residential and commercial customers.”

Honda ZTR electric riding mower

On the commercial front, Honda’s new ZTR mowers are powered by 5 separate, 48V brushless electric motors — 3 motors under the machine’s 60″ cutting deck (12″ wider than the Kubota‘s) that each power a rotating set of twin blades, and 2 drive wheel motors to maneuver the mower with precise control. The company says it’s engineered to, “stand up to the rigors of commercial landscaping, with power to mow at maximum efficiency while maintaining pristine cut quality.”

Honda says the ZTR’s six 48-volt lithium-ion battery packs offer enough power to mow up to 15 acres of lawn on a single charge, and can be recharged in under 6 hours on a 220V outlet.

The new ZTR will be the first electrified power product produced at Honda North Carolina Manufacturing (NCM) facility in Swepsonville, and will be assembled using both “using “domestic and globally sourced parts.”

“Technology is aggressively shaping the future of the world, including the landscaping industry, and trends show that buyers are integrating battery-powered products into their fleets,” said Kohls. “Honda Sports & Products is providing the battery-powered Honda ZTR lawn mower to introduce flexibility into the fleet, help increase operating efficiency and comfort, address labor shortages and support the sustainability goals of commercial landscapers.”

No word, yet, on pricing.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Honda Power Equipment, via Power Progress.