The California Senate dropped a controversial provision of an upcoming solar law which would have broken long-standing solar contracts with California homeowners after significant public backlash over the state’s plans to do so.

For several months now, AB 942 has been working its way through the California legislature, with big changes to the way that California treats contracts for residential solar.

The state has long allowed for “net metering,” the concept that if you sell your excess solar power to the grid, it gives you a credit that you can use to draw from the grid when your solar isn’t producing.

Some 2 million homeowners in California signed contracts with 20-year terms when they purchased their solar systems, figuring that the solar panels would pay off their significant investment over the coming decades by allowing them to sell power to the grid that they generated from their rooftops.

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But this has long been a sticking point for the state’s regulated private utilities. They are in the business of selling power, so they tend to have little interest in buying it from the people they’re supposed to be selling it to.

As a result, utilities have consistently tried to get language watering down net metering contracts inserted into bills considered by the CA legislature, and the most recent one was a bit of a doozy.

The most recent plan was asked for by the CA Public Utilities Commission, in response to an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom, was authored by a former utility executive, and used some questionable justifications, claiming that solar customers were responsible for high utility bills by shifting costs from solar customers to non-solar customers. Other analyses show that rooftop solar helped save $1.5 billion for ratepayers.

The most controversial point of AB 942 was that it would break rooftop solar contracts early. At first, it was going to break all existing contracts, then was limited to only break contracts if a homeowner sells their home. The ability to transfer these contracts was key to the buying decision for many homeowners who installed solar, as the ability to generate your own power and lower your electricity bills adds to a home’s value.

This brought anger from several rooftop solar owners and organizations associated with the industry. 100 organizations signed onto an effort to stop blaming consumers who are doing their best to reduce emissions and instead focus on the real causes of higher electricity, which the groups said are associated with high utility spending and profits.

It also resulted in several protests outside CA assemblymembers’ offices, opposing the bill. And California representatives received a high volume of comments opposing the plan to break solar contracts.

But, as of Tuesday, the language which would break rooftop solar contracts has been removed by the CA Senate’s Energy Committee, chaired by Senator Josh Becker, who led the effort. Language which blamed consumers for utility rate-hikes was also removed from the bill, according to the Solar Rights Alliance.

The bill is still not law, it has only moved out of the Energy Committee. But bills that advance through committee in California do not usually meet a significant amount of debate when they come to a floor vote, due to the Democratic supermajority in the state. It seems likely that if this bill advances to a vote, it will pass.

Electrek’s Take

The bill is still not perfect for solar homeowners. It disallows anyone with a yearly electricity bill of under $300 from getting the “California Climate Credit,” which is a refund to state utility customers paid for by California’s carbon fee on polluting industry.

The justification is thin for removing this credit from homeowners who are doing even more for the climate by installing solar… but it turns out that limitation probably won’t affect many customers, because most solar customers will still pay a yearly grid connection tax of around $300/year, and most solar customers still have a small electricity bill anyway at the end of the year.

Now, the question of a grid connection fee is another point of possible contention. This has been referred to as a “tax on the sun” in some jurisdictions, and it does feel like an attempt to nickel-and-dime customers who are contributing to climate reductions and should not be penalized for doing so. However, there is at least some rationality in the concept that they should pay to use infrastructure (but then… isn’t that the point of taxes, to build infrastructure for people to use?).

In short, even if it’s not perfect for every solar homeowner, we can consider this a win, and an example of how, at least with functional governments (unlike the US’ one), the public can and should be able to stop bad laws, or bad portions of laws, with enough public effort.

Now, if only we could apply that to those ridiculous EV fees…

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The XC60, Volvo’s best-selling vehicle, will soon be built in South Carolina. It will be assembled alongside the flagship EX90 electric SUV, with Volvo promising this is “just the beginning.”

Volvo brings its best-selling vehicle to South Carolina

Volvo revealed plans to begin production of its best-selling vehicle, the XC60, at its Ridgeville, South Carolina, plant.

Located just outside of Charleston, the facility is Volvo’s first US plant. After investing around 1.3 billion into it over the past decade, the “state-of-the-art, future-ready” facility assembles Volvo’s three-row electric SUV, the EX90, and the Polestar 3.

Volvo said that by adding the XC60, both as a mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV), it would “soon now produce something for everyone in its US plant.”

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The XC60 has been the best-selling Volvo vehicle globally for several years now. It’s also already the brand’s most popular in the US, representing over 33% of Volvo’s sales. Volvo said that a quarter of buyers opted for the PHEV variant. The XC60 is the fourth-best-selling luxury PHEV in the US.

“The XC60 is already beloved around the world and in the US, and we’re proud we’ll soon be able to offer American families the XC60 they love, assembled here by American autoworkers,” Luis Rezende, President of Volvo Cars Americas, said.

In June, the XC60 was again Volvo’s top seller with over 20,700 units sold, up 8% from June 2024. In the first half of the year, XC60 sales in the US rose by nearly 23%.

After announcing that Q2 sales rose 4.4% in the US, Rezende said, “This quarter is just the beginning.” He added, “We are confident in the path ahead and remain fully committed to accelerating our electrification journey.”

The EX60 recently surpassed the 240 wagon to become Volvo’s best-selling vehicle of all time. Over 2.7 million XC60s are on the road today.

In late 2026, XC60 production is set to begin in the US, marking another milestone. Volvo mentioned it will continue building the EX90 at the facility “for customers who want more space or are looking to go fully electric.”

With the federal EV incentive set to expire at the end of September, Ford is urging its dealers to prepare for a rush of buyers.

Ford warns dealers of upcoming EV rush

Like most automakers, Ford is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump Administration. After the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law on July 4, the $7,500 and $4,000 tax credit for new and used EVs will no longer be available after September 30.

In a memo sent to dealers this week, Ford warned, “demand is expected to increase as the deadline approaches for eligible vehicles.”

The letter (via CarsDirect) confirmed that the EV tax credit “will no longer be available for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.”

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Ford blamed Trump’s new bill for the expected rush of EV buyers ahead of the incentive deadline. Although the Mustang Mach-E doesn’t qualify for the credit, since it’s built in Mexico, Ford is passing it on through a leasing loophole. While it’s still available, the F-150 Lightning does qualify for the credit when purchased or leased.

Last week, Ford launched its new “Zero, Zero, Zero” summer sales promo, offering a $0 down payment, 0% interest for 48 months, and zero payments for the first 90 days on most Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

The new campaign replaces the employee pricing for all campaign, which ran through the first half of the year. Despite outpacing the industry with overall sales rising 14% in Q2, Ford’s EV sales fell by nearly a third.

Ford spokesperson Martin Gunsberg told Electrek that electric vehicle sales were lower due to the Mustang Mach-E recall and the transition to the 2025 model year. “Our dealers can’t sell what they don’t have,” Gunsberg said.

Although the Mach-E doesn’t qualify for the credit when purchased, it’s still one of the best EV lease deals available right now, starting at $395 per month. The offer is for 36 months with no down payment required.

Ford isn’t the only one preparing for big changes over the next few months. Honda extended its ultra-low lease offer on the Prologue until the end of September. Hyundai and Kia are slashing prices with generous discounts ahead of the deadline. The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 might be the best EV deal at just $179 per month right now.

Looking to snag the savings while they are still available? You can use our links below to find deals on top-selling electric vehicles in your area.