Trump wants to kill ENERGY STAR – here’s how that impacts you
The Trump administration wants to pull the plug on ENERGY STAR, the federal program behind those familiar blue labels on energy-efficient appliances, homes, and buildings. Launched in 1992, ENERGY STAR has saved Americans more than $500 billion in energy costs while slashing greenhouse gas emissions.
To dig into what this means for everyday Americans, we spoke with Rebecca Foster, CEO of clean energy nonprofit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), which has spent decades working to make homes, schools, and businesses more energy efficient.
Electrek: What is the ENERGY STAR program, and what are the benefits for consumers?
Rebecca Foster: It’s simple: ENERGY STAR helps customers and businesses save energy and reduce costs. The program does this by clearly labeling which products are energy-efficient options. It’s a certification of confidence – it does not dictate efficiency standards. The program was created in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush and has enjoyed decades of bipartisan support.
The brand has become the backbone of energy efficiency across the country. ENERGY STAR is a recognized and reliable mark of efficient appliances and electronics that lower costs and improve indoor air quality. The ENERGY STAR label has also expanded to include efficiency standards for weatherizing homes and certifying when new buildings are constructed to high efficiency standards. Utilities benefit from ENERGY STAR, too – with more efficient appliances and systems plugged in, they are better able to manage the grid and decrease costs for customers.
The main benefit to consumers is significant savings through energy efficiency. A typical home can save around $450 a year on their energy bills by choosing ENERGY STAR-certified products, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimate. Lower-income households spend a greater proportion of their budget on energy, so losing that savings will be felt especially hard by these families. Energy efficiency programs that VEIC administers, including Efficiency Vermont, Efficiency Smart, and the DC Sustainable Energy Utility, have incorporated ENERGY STAR certifications into their rebates and educational materials for decades. The ENERGY STAR certification is an easy way to let people know which products are eligible for rebates and encourage folks to choose the more efficient option by making it more affordable with incentives. Combined, these programs have delivered more than $694 million in customer incentives since 2000, resulting in over $5.6 billion in lifetime customer savings.
Evaluations of the ENERGY STAR program show it saves US households about $40 billion a year nationwide – and has delivered about $500 billion in savings since it began. All for a program that costs the government just $30 million annually. According to the Consortium for Energy Efficiency‘s 2022 survey, where I worked for over a decade prior to joining VEIC, nearly 90% of US households report recognizing the ENERGY STAR label and almost half (45%) report knowingly purchasing an ENERGY STAR-certified product or home within the last 12 months.
Electrek: How would ending the ENERGY STAR program hurt consumers at a national and regional level?
Rebecca Foster: Efficiency labels and education from ENERGY STAR leads to more affordable energy bills for customers. Ending the program means less clarity and guidance for how to choose the more efficient option, which means higher costs month after month. Households are increasingly opting for more efficient, all-electric clean technologies like cold climate heat pumps for heating/cooling and EVs for their transportation needs. That means efficiency will become even more important for households to maintain lower electricity use. So, losing ENERGY STAR now will really cost Americans more in the short and long term.
Regionally and on a local level, getting rid of ENERGY STAR could disrupt energy efficiency programs run by states, utilities, and third-party administrators that rely on the ENERGY STAR label for rebates. It could also hurt manufacturers, distributors, and contractors who have built their businesses around providing and installing more efficient equipment. Existing lists of qualified products will quickly become out of date as new models and new technology enter the market. We could see programs in different states or run by different entities come up with confusing or competing standards for their rebates, making it more difficult for people to save energy.
All of these impacts hurt consumers, especially at a time when families and businesses are already struggling to keep up with rising costs.
Electrek: What sort of impact would ending this program have on the grid?
Rebecca Foster: A stable electric grid is more important than ever as we see growing electricity demand due to data centers and AI and an increasing reliance on electricity to meet more of our daily needs. ENERGY STAR has been the backbone of energy efficiency across the country for decades, and it’s delivered the more efficient lighting, appliances, and heating systems that are in use today in countless homes. Efficiency is a major reason why US electricity demand has been flat for the last two decades, according to the EIA.
As we see the electrification of our transportation and heating sectors, we’re also going to see unprecedented growth in electricity demand – an 11% increase in New England alone over the next decade, according to ISO New England. That’s part of a 50% increase in demand nationally by 2050, according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.
Losing ENERGY STAR would slow down and complicate management of the grid because efficiency contributes to a stable and optimized grid. It also helps avoid the costly expansion of transmission projects by reducing demand without asking customers to make large behavioral changes.
A more efficient grid can also avoid investing in new fossil fuel power generation, like natural gas power plants, helping meet state and regional goals for clean energy and emissions reductions. ENERGY STAR is a great tool for realizing an efficient, electrified future. Ending the program will put a greater burden on grid operators and utilities by taking away one of the most effective tools in the toolbox for addressing rising energy demand: customer participation.
Rebecca Foster is VEIC’s CEO. Heading up the executive leadership team, Rebecca guides the nonprofit’s strategic planning, business development, and performance across its contracts nationwide. With nearly 25 years of experience in the clean energy industry, Rebecca is a seasoned leader dedicated to the organization’s mission of generating the energy solutions the world needs.
VEIC is a national clean energy nonprofit that delivers high-impact energy solutions focused on equity and innovation. Since 1986, VEIC has been recognized as a leader in decarbonization strategies, working with governments, utilities, foundations, and businesses to reduce GHG emissions and create a sustainable energy system that benefits everyone.
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Swedish electric boat maker Candela has just secured a major deal in Southeast Asia: ten of its P-12 electric hydrofoil ferries will soon operate the route to Koh Kood, one of Thailand’s most pristine and least developed islands.
The agreement, signed in Bangkok during the SX Sustainability Expo, pairs Candela with Thai operator Seudamgo by Leopard Transportation Co., Ltd. It marks a significant shift for Koh Kood, where access has long relied on noisy, gas-powered speedboats that pump out emissions, churn up damaging wakes, and clash with the quiet, natural character of the island. Local officials and Swedish representatives, including the Governor of Trat and the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, were on hand to witness the deal.
Candela’s P-12 ferries promise to transform that experience. Unlike traditional hulls that plow through waves, the P-12 rides above the surface on computer-controlled hydrofoils. The result is a ride that’s not only whisper-quiet but also dramatically more efficient – using up to 80% less energy than a conventional speedboat. With no exhaust fumes, no underwater noise, and virtually no wake, the P-12 is designed to leave the island’s marine environment undisturbed.
Each of the ten ferries headed to Thailand will be the Business model, offering seating for 20 passengers in an air-conditioned cabin with plenty of luggage space. At a service speed of 25 knots (around 29 mph or 46 km/h), they’ll cover the 20-nautical-mile mainland-to-island route in just 40 minutes. The vessels are powered by dual Candela C-Pod drives rated at 110 kW continuous (160 kW peak), fed by a 378 kWh battery pack that can fast-charge at up to 300 kW. Real-world range comes in at about 40 nautical miles at cruising speed – more than enough to comfortably cover the daily runs. And with that fast charging, a feature that has helped Candela set maritime records, the ferries can easily top up their batteries while loading and unloading passengers.
Seudamgo’s CEO Surachai Suwanthanakul called the deal a milestone for Thai tourism. “Candela’s P-12 foil electric technology is a game-changer,” he said. “It’s free from emissions, oil spills, and underwater noise—and at the same time, it offers passengers a superior experience. You can’t really get seasick on board a Candela.”
For passengers, that seasickness-free ride is thanks to Candela’s digital Flight control system, a computer that constantly adjusts the hydrofoils in real time to eliminate slamming and pitching. It’s the same tech that’s made Candela’s smaller leisure boats popular with private owners in Europe and the U.S., now scaled up for public transit.
And as someone who has spent some time at the helm of multiple Candela leisure boats and also suffers from seasickness, this journalist can confirm that the smooth ride really is calming for the stomach.
Candela’s founder and CEO Gustav Hasselskog framed the partnership as a chance for Thailand to leapfrog straight into sustainable water transport. “By replacing noisy, polluting speedboats with our electric flying ships, Seudamgo is protecting one of Thailand’s most beautiful destinations,” he said.
Thailand is already a major market for Candela. The company operates its largest office outside Sweden in Bangkok and sees huge potential in a country with more than 1,500 islands and extensive waterborne transport. Regional CEO Björn Antonsson emphasized that point: “With its thousands of islands, big rivers and vibrant tourism industry, Thailand can truly benefit from our technology. Partnering with Seudamgo to introduce the P-12 fleet is a fantastic beginning—we see enormous potential to expand clean, efficient hydrofoil transport across Thailand and the wider region.”
For Koh Kood, the arrival of Candela’s P-12 ferries could mean a future where visitors still enjoy easy access, but without the pollution and disruption that have plagued other tourist islands. And for the wider region, it’s a sign that electric flying ferries may finally be moving from niche novelty to mainstream solution.
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What looks to be Tesla’s long-rumored “more affordable model” has been spotted testing on a highway, without any camouflage. But before you get too excited, it’s just a Model Y with some cheaper parts – and a price that’s not much different than we’ve seen on other Teslas.
For many years, Tesla had planned to build a much more affordable vehicle, starting around $25k. This vehicle was nicknamed the “Model 2,” and would have offered the most affordable entry point into the EV market, at least in the West.
But that project was abruptly canceled by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as first reported by Reuters and immediately denied by Musk. Reuters was later shown to be correct in its report, as many who follow Tesla might have expected, given Musk’s constant overpromising (and often outright lies).
In its place, Tesla started offering vague promises about “more affordable models,” starting in its Q1 report in April 2024. Tesla later specified that these would enter production in the first half of 2025.
The language Tesla used suggested that the cheaper vehicles would be new models, which means more than one model, and not just based on a current Tesla model. But we reported that this was unlikely to be the case, and that the new models would just be a stripped-down Model Y.
The first-half deadline Tesla set came and went, but on Tesla’s Q2 call, it said that “first builds” were produced in June. On the same call, Musk said that the “new affordable model” is… the Model Y.
We first saw the “more affordable” Model Y out and about in Chinese spy shots, which included exterior videos and even a peek at the interior. However, in those spy shots, the front and rear of the vehicle were covered with camouflage, suggesting that there would be some changes in those areas Tesla didn’t want to leak yet.
Tesla doesn’t seem to mind those leaks anymore (especially after a low-res website leak), as a Model Y was spotted driving on the highway with no camouflage whatsoever, offering a look into what Tesla was hiding underneath those covers.
The pictures were posted to reddit by Fantastic_Train_7270, and show a Model Y with Florida manufacturer plates.
The nicely clear front end photos show that the car is missing the front light bar that was added with the Juniper refresh, instead reverting to separate headlights – though both are quite narrow, like the headlights on the Juniper.
The rear end is also missing its light bar, instead replaced by a horizontal black line. The line does not have the “T E S L A” badging, as the Juniper refresh has.
The model also has new aerodynamic wheels, which should help add a little range (and may make up for a smaller battery pack, though we don’t have information yet on whether battery size is part of the decontenting associated with the “more affordable” model).
Other than the lack of light bars, the front and rear look quite similar to the Juniper refresh. However, one concerning detail is that the rear trunk lid does not seem to fit snugly into the place it’s supposed to fit, instead encroaching onto the top of the plastic rear fascia.
We don’t know what might have caused this, but we do know that we’ve seen Model Ys with poor color matching on body panels before – but that’s a lot less of a problem than a body panel that seems to be misaligned by the better part of an inch, visible from a longish distance shot on a highway.
Of course, it’s just a prototype, but this is also the reason prototypes have camouflage, so the public can’t see fiddly bits like this ahead of release.
While these photos don’t show us anything of the interior, information from a recent software update gives us some hints as to what has been removed. In addition to removing the glass roof, coat hooks and 8″ rear screen (as could be seen in the Chinese spy shots), the software update suggests that the Model Y will have no ambient LED lights, single-axis seat controls, and simpler air vents.
The fact that this vehicle was spotted without camouflage, alongside the fact that this vehicle has shown up in recent software updates, suggests that release may be imminent. We had expected that it might be released in China first as has been the case with some other Tesla models lately, but the vehicle’s presence on US roads means that it might see a release here soon too.
And if it is releasing soon, it would be at an important time. Tesla just had its first positive sales quarter in some time, but that was primarily due to the expiration of the $7,500 US EV tax credit, which pulled forward demand. That means Teslas are now going to be $7,500 more expensive for US buyers, as of yesterday. So anything Tesla can do to cut prices will be a big deal.
We don’t know for certain how much cheaper the “more affordable” Model Y will be, but estimates (and a leak) suggest a base price of $40k – so, a savings of $5k over the current $45k base price, or $2,500 under the current base price of the Model 3, neither of which are as low as the lowest prices we’ve seen Teslas sell for before. Quite a far shout from the actually affordable $25,000 car we were all promised for so long.
Also, that price would still be a $2,500 price increase compared to the deal which was available just two days ago, before tax credit expiry. And Tesla has its own CEO to thank for that price hike, given he unwisely spent $200 million campaigning for the anti-EV forces that are now making his company’s products less affordable.
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