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2024 was a strong year for aeolian energy in Germany, with permit awards for onshore wind turbines accelerating, according to industry data — but the upcoming Feb. 23 election means the sector now faces uncertainty, amid vocal skepticism from the two parties leading in the polls.

Friedrich Merz, the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is polling in first place with around 30% of support alongside its affiliate party the CSU, has described wind power as a “transitional technology.” Speaking to public broadcaster ZDF late last year, he said he hoped “ugly” wind turbines could be dismantled eventually, “because they do not fit into the landscape.”

The far-right Alternative fuer Deutschland, which is second in national polls and expected to secure around 20% of votes, took the rhetoric even further. The party’s chancellor candidate Alice Weidel has threatened to tear down all wind turbines, which she reportedly labeled as “windmills of shame.” The AfD has called climate change into question and has frequently dismissed actions taken to tackle the environmental crisis.

Wind power, a form of renewable energy used to generate electricity, is considered important in the transition away from fossil fuels.

Wolf-Peter Schill, an energy economist at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), said some of the “wind power-bashing” during the election campaign has been “absurd” at times, particularly from the AfD.

“The AfD is, in many respects, a nightmare — also in terms of their wind power takes, but I think it is not super relevant as they will not be in power,” Schill told CNBC over video call.

Despite the AfD polling in second place, all other major parties in Germany have so far committed to not entering a coalition government with them, meaning they will likely form part of the opposition after the election.

“What the CDU, the conservative party, does is much more relevant, at least for the next government,” Schill noted.

Germany’s wind energy expansion

Schill cited a recent report from the German Wind Energy Association and engineering foundation VDMA Power Systems, which said the country achieved a historic milestone for onshore wind energy in 2024.

Europe’s largest economy licensed more than 2,400 onshore wind turbines last year, the report said, representing a combined capacity of more than 14 gigawatts. Contracts awarded for onshore wind turbines also rose to a record high, it added.

Dennis Rendschmidt, managing director of VDMA Power Systems, told CNBC that the record figures highlighted the effectiveness of legal changes and political measures implemented in recent years. They also signaled a new dynamic for the sector, he said.

“This momentum needs to be kept up by a new federal government,” Rendschmidt added, according to a CNBC translation of emailed comments. The expansion of wind energy must continue without restrictions, he said, as that would lead to lower energy costs, create jobs, secure energy supply and reduce dependence on energy imports.

DIW Berlin’s Schill sees few potential hurdles.

“All the conditions are really set for future growth,” he said, noting that the only obstacles could emerge if the incoming government slows down the pace of expansion, for either ideological reasons or a lack of understanding of the role wind power will have in energy systems.

Giles Dickson, CEO of industry trade group WindEurope, told CNBC that in the likely scenario of a CDU-led government, there should only be a little concern for the sector.

“If you’re looking at a CDU-led government, with either the [Social Democratic Party] or the Greens in coalition, or both, then that to us does not represent storm clouds at all,” he said.

The party is not neglectful when it comes to climate change and at least does not strongly oppose wind energy, Andreas Reuter, managing director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES), told CNBC when elaborating on the position of the likely leader of Germany’s new coalition, the CDU/CSU.

Although the CDU was previously critical of wind turbines, Reuter said the party would likely deem them “acceptable” for now, as they are broadly reliable and produce cheap energy.

Renewable energy challenges

While the change in government may not mean that trouble for German wind energy is imminent, the new ruling coalition will face challenges when it comes to renewables and wind power.

That includes updates to Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act, a German law designed to ensure the country can produce 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of the decade, Dickson pointed out.

Solar and wind energy are key for these ambitions, as Germany’s efforts towards winning energy from nuclear fusion — which is widely deemed a highly sustainable power source — are still in the research and planning stage. Germany shut off its last remaining traditional nuclear power plants in 2023.

The new government will have to work on a new iteration of the law, he said, suggesting that industry bodies will need to keep a close eye on those developments and seek close dialogue with the government to shape changes.

The goals Germany currently has for growing its renewable energy production and usage are another area that will involve adjustments. Some of these targets are already “completely unrealistic,” IWES’ Reuter said.

That means the government will have to cut its targets or they would miss them each year, he said, noting that the current plans were “aggressive” — but that this was helpful in showing that renewables were a priority and to encourage people to think big and create a positive environment around the issue.

“On the other hand, we still have a gap, which is getting bigger and bigger the closer we get to 2030 and the question is, how do we want to fill the gap? When are we going to accept that we’re not going to meet these targets? And this will be again, interesting discussions for the next government,” he said.

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At $28,000 off, is the Jeep Wagoneer S the best EV deal going? [update]

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At $28,000 off, is the Jeep Wagoneer S the best EV deal going? [update]

Like a 90s “gifted” kid that was supposed to be a lot of things, the electric Jeep Wagoneer S never really found its place — but when dealers started discounting the Jeep brands forward-looking flagship by nearly $25,000 back in June, I wrote that it might be time to give the go-fast Wagoneer S a second look.

This month, the discounts are even better.

UPDATE 23AUG25: I found you some even better EV deals!


Whether we’re talking about Mercedes-Benz, Cerberus, Fiat, or even Enzo Ferrari, outsiders have labeled Jeep as a potentially premium brand that could, “if managed properly,” command luxury-level prices all over the globe. That hasn’t happened, and Stellantis is just the latest in a long line of companies to sink massive capital into the brand only to realize that people will not, in fact, spend Mercedes money on a Jeep.

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That said, the Jeep Wagoneer S is not a bad car (and neither is its totally different, hideously massive, ICE-powered Wagoneer sibling, frankly). Built on the same Stellantis STLA Large vehicle platform that underpins the sporty Charger Daytona EVs, the confusingly-named Wagoneer S packs dual electric motors putting out almost 600 hp. That’s good enough to scoot the ‘ute 0 to 60 mph in a stomach-turning 3.5 seconds and enough, on paper, to convince Stellantis executives that they had developed a real, market-ready alternative to the Tesla Model Y.

With the wrong name and a sky-high starting price of $66,995 (not including the $1,795 destination fee), however, that demand didn’t materialize, leaving the Wagoneer S languishing on dealer lots across the country.

That could be about to change, however, thanks to big discounts on Wagoneer S being reported at CDJR dealers in several states:

  • Jeff Belzer’s in Minnesota has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $39,758 ($28,032 off)
  • Troncalli CDJR in Georgia has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,590 MSRP for $42,697 ($24,893 off)
  • Whitewater CDJR in Minnesota has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $43,846 ($23,944 off)
  • Antioch CDJR in Illinois has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $44,540 ($23,250 off)

“Stellantis bet big on electric versions of iconic American brands like Jeep and Dodge, but consumers aren’t buying the premise,” writes CDG’s Marcus Amick. “(Stellantis’ dealer body) is now stuck with expensive EVs that need huge discounts to move, eating into already thin margins while competitors focus on [more] profitable gas-powered vehicles.”

All of which is to say: if you’ve found yourself drawn to the Jeep Wagoneer S, but couldn’t quite stomach the $70,000+ window stickers, you might want to check in with your local Jeep dealer and see how you feel about it at a JCPenneys-like 30% off!


Original content from Electrek; images via Stellantis.


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New 50-ton SANY reach stacker brings Formula 1 tech to the job site

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New 50-ton SANY reach stacker brings Formula 1 tech to the job site

Multinational equipment brand SANY just launched a clever new 50-ton reach stacker that pairs gravity and an F1-style KERS system to generate electricity, improve operating efficiency, and reduce costs. The best part: they’re putting that smart tech to work by helping clean up (and shore up) the grid.

Short for Kinetic Energy Recovery System, KERS was a staple of Formula 1 in the late aught and 2010s. Essentially an advanced form of regenerative braking, KERS captured the kinetic energy of a car at speed that would normally be lost as heat when the brake pads pressed against the brake discs. Instead of heat, KERS converted that energy into electricity (storing it in a battery or flywheel), to be deployed later.

Sebastian Vettel explains KERS


4x WDC Sebastian Vettel explains KERS.

In practice, KERS gave drivers an extra boost of horsepower at the push of a button, enabling them to attack or defend their position on track and adding a fresh strategic element to the sport. In SANY’s case, that stored power is fed back into the reach stacker’s electric hydraulic system, reducing pressure loss across the high-pressure setup by 50%, and lowering the machine’s overall energy consumption by more than 60%.

Energy recovery is a key feature. The potential energy of the boom, lifting gear and energy storage cabinets during the boom’s descent can be recovered efficiently with an overall recovery efficiency of over 65%. That means every 1 kWh of consumption in lifting can be recovered by 0.4 kWh during descent.

SANY

The 50t reach stacker is available with a 512 kWh swappable battery pack that’s compatible with other SANY heavy equipment assets, and supports both DC fast charging when swapping isn’t practical or (for whatever reason) desirable.

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On a single charge and backed by the onboard KERS, that’s good enough for the machine can lift and move containers for more than 7 continuous hours, which SANY claims significantly reducing downtime for charging compared to other, similar equipment assets.

The new SANY reach stacker can stack six 50-ton containers, greatly enhancing a site’s container and battery storage density within a limited space. The first units will reach unnamed customers building out a utility-scale energy storage project by the end of this month.

Electrek’s Take


50 tonne electric reach stacker; via SANY.

All the great stuff I was saying about the new 65-tonne XCMG still holds true for the SANY (especially when they take the wraps off their own 65t BESS-specific unit later this year), but the SANY adds smart battery swap tech and what seems to be more efficient operations, too.

Regardless of which one you choose, it seems like the available options for reach stacker operators are just getting better and better!

SOURCE | IMAGES: SANY.


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Want EV charging at your apartment, as an owner or a renter? Click here

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Want EV charging at your apartment, as an owner or a renter? Click here

EVs are great, and can unlock more transportation convenience with the ease of charging at home. But for apartment-dwellers, this can be a complicated conversation. So a nonprofit called Forth is here to help, through its Charge at Home program.

One of the main benefits of an electric vehicle is in the convenience of owning and charging the car in the place it spends most of its time. Instead of having to go out of your way to fuel it, you just park it at home, in the same place it spends at least 8 hours a day, and you leave the house every day with a full charge.

But this benefit only applies to those with a consistent parking space which they can easily install charging at. When talking about owners who live in apartment buildings, it can sometimes get more complicated.

While certain states have passed “right to charge” laws to give apartment-dwellers a solution for home charging, apartment charging is nevertheless a bit of a patchwork solution so far.

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And as a result of this, EV ownership among apartment renters lags behind that of single-family homeowners. It’s clear that apartments are holding back people from buying EVs, and that’s bad – lots of people live in apartments, and the gas those cars use pollutes the air just as much as any other.

Certain areas where EVs have hit a point of critical mass (namely, the large California cities) have pretty good EV ownership among renters, but it could still be better. And residents are clamoring more and more for easy EV charging in apartment communities.

So, Forth, a nonprofit advocating for equitable access to clean transportation, set up a program called Charge at Home, which is meant to connect renters, apartment building owners or other decisionmakers with resources to help install chargers at multifamily properties.

The site lets you select your situation – a resident or a decisionmaker for a new or existing multifamily development – and then gives you access to tools for your specific situation, whether you be a resident and developer.

The site houses links to help design a multifamily project, find electricians, inform you about right to charge laws or available incentives, and provide case studies, among others.

Charge at Home also hosts roundtable webinars periodically, and includes a library of past webinars with the information you need.

There are a lot of considerations for each of these projects, so it can be helpful to have someone with experience to help you go over it all. Personally, when talking to friends about getting an EV, charging considerations are usually the thing that takes up the bulk of the conversation.

So if the toolkits are still too daunting for you, Charge at Home is offering free charging consultations for multifamily developers, owners, property managers and HOAs.

The charging consultations have been made possible by funding from the Department of Energy, though that funding only runs through the end of September – so get your requests in soon. Forth may still offer consultations afterwards, but is still uncertain about funding so doesn’t want to promise anything – but the website will remain up for people to submit questions and find information, whether or not free consultations stick around.

But at the very least, as Forth points out, whether a multifamily development is interested in having EV charging at this moment or not, any developer should think about having the infrastructure, conduit and capacity ready to go for future install of EV chargers, and should consider the needs of current residents who are likely already considering EVs today.

It’s going to be necessary to install this capacity at some point, and doing so earlier can help save money down the line, make your development more attractive to renters today, and allow more renters to make the switch to cleaner transportation which helps air quality and to reduce climate change, both of which harm everyone on the planet.

Electrek’s Take

I’ve long said that the only real problem with EVs is the problem of access to consistent charging for people who don’t have their own garage. Whether this be apartment-dwellers, street-parkers or the like, the electric car charging experience is often less-than-ideal outside of single family homes, at least in North America.

There are workarounds available, like charging at work, or using Superchargers in “third places” where you often spend time, but these still aren’t optimal. The best thing is just to charge your car wherever it spends most of its time, which is your home. When you do that, EVs outshine everything in convenience.

We’ve highlighted some projects before which showed how reasonable it can be to install charging for developments. Every project is going to have its complexities, but when you see projects like this condo complex that managed to install chargers for just $405 per parking spot, all of a sudden it becomes a no-brainer not to have EV charging.

But the fact is, there just aren’t enough apartment complexes out there which have EV charging. So if Forth’s program can help residents or landlords with that, it can go a long way towards solving the only real problem with EVs.


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

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