A new report from global energy think tank Ember says batteries have officially hit the price point that lets solar power deliver affordable electricity almost every hour of the year in the sunniest parts of the world.

The study looked at hourly solar data from 12 cities and found that in sun-soaked places like Las Vegas, you could pair 6 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels with 17 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries and get a steady 1 GW of power nearly 24/7. The cost? Just $104 per megawatt-hour (MWh) based on average global prices for solar and batteries in 2024. That’s a 22% drop in a year and cheaper than new coal ($118/MWh) and nuclear ($182/MWh) in many regions.

Ember calls it “24/365 solar generation,” and it’s not just a theoretical model. Cities like Muscat, Oman, and Las Vegas can hit that steady power mark for up to 99% of the hours in a year. Hyderabad, Madrid, and Buenos Aires can reach 80–95% of the way there using that same solar-plus-storage setup with some cloud cover. And even cloudier cities like Birmingham in the UK can cover about 62% of hours annually.

“This is a turning point in the clean energy transition,” said Kostantsa Rangelova, global electricity analyst at Ember. “Around-the-clock solar is no longer a distant dream; it’s an economic reality of the world. It unlocks game-changing opportunities for energy-hungry industries like data centres and manufacturing.”

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This is an enormous opportunity for sunny regions in Africa and Latin America. Manufacturers and data centers could also tap into solar-plus-storage and skip long waits (and big bills) for new grid connections.

It’s not a silver bullet for grid-wide reliability, but it lets solar carry much more of the load, especially where sunshine is abundant. Batteries also help avoid costly grid expansions by allowing up to five times more solar to plug into existing connections.

In 2024 alone, global battery prices dropped 40%, which helped drive down solar-plus-storage costs by 22%. Record-low tenders from countries like Saudi Arabia point to even cheaper options coming soon.

Real-world projects are already online: The UAE built the world’s first gigawatt-scale 24-hour solar facility. Arizona is already home to solar-powered data centers. And as battery tech keeps improving, round-the-clock solar could become the backbone of clean energy systems in the world’s sunniest places.

Read more: This solar canopy cools wastewater and powers a city utility

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The Honda Prologue continues to surprise, ranking among the top ten most leased vehicles (gas-powered or EV) in the US in the first quarter. It was the only EV, outside of Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3, that made the list.

Honda Prologue EV ranks among most leased vehicles

After launching the Prologue in the US last March, Honda’s electric SUV took off. In the second half of the year, it was the second-best-selling electric SUV, trailing only the Tesla Model Y.

The Prologue remains a top-selling EV in the US this year, with over 13,500 units sold through May. That’s not too bad, considering it only sold 705 through May of last year.

According to a new Experian report (via Automotive News), Honda’s success is being driven by ultra-affordable lease rates. In the first quarter, nearly 60% of new EV buyers in the US chose to lease, up from just 36% a year ago.

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Three EVs ranked in the top ten most leased vehicles, including the Tesla Model Y, Model 3, and Honda Prologue.

Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 took the top two spots, while the Honda Prologue ranked number seven. Those who leased Tesla’s Model 3 paid $402 per month, Honda Prologue lessees paid $486 a month.

Given the average loan rate was $708 a month for those who bought it, it’s no wonder nearly 90% chose to lease. Under 9% chose to buy, while less than 2% paid cash.

The discounts are piling up, but for how long?

To give you a better idea, the average monthly payment for a new vehicle lease in the US in the first quarter was $595.

With over $20,000 in discounts, Honda’s luxury Acura brand is selling a surprising number of EVs in the US. The nearly $65,000 Acura ZDX is sold for under $40,000 on average in May, according to Cox Automotive’s EV Market Monitor report for May.

The trend is primarily thanks to the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, which is being passed on to customers through leasing.

With the Trump administration and Senate Republicans aiming to kill off federal subsidies, the savings could soon disappear. If the Senate’s recently proposed bill is passed, the $7,500 credit would expire within 180 days. It would not only make electric vehicles more expensive, but it would also put the US further behind China and others leading the shift to electrification.

Some automakers, including GM, are expected to continue offering the incentives. “GM has been very competitive on the incentives on their end, and that is not scheduled to end.”

After outselling Ford, GM’s Chevy is now the fastest-growing EV brand in the US through May. Chevy is starting to chip away at Tesla’s lead, largely thanks to the new Equinox EV, or “America’s most affordable +315 range EV,” as GM calls it.

According to Xperian, those who leased a new Chevy Equinox EV in Q1 paid $243 less than those who financed it. The electric Equinox stood out in Cox Automotive’s EV Market Monitor report with an average selling price under $40,000, even without incentives.

The Chevy Equinox EV remains one of the most affordable EVs on the market. Starting at just $34,995, the base LT FWD model offers an EPA-estimated range of 319 miles.

Looking to test out some of the most popular EVs for yourself? With Honda Prologue leases as low as $259 per month and Chevy Equinox EV leases starting at just $289 per month, the deals are hard to pass up right now while the incentives are still here. You can use our links below to find models in your area.

Originally announced two years ago, a joint energy storage project between European energy firm Enel and Nissan has come online, giving LEAF batteries a second chance at life and ensuring electrical supply for more than 90,000 people.

DER, or distributed energy resources, are a huge deal in the utility space, which is scrambling to keep up with the ever-greater power demands of more, bigger high-compute data centers. EV batteries at the end of their useful life for automotive use have long been promised to be part of a more comprehensive solution, however — and now that promise is coming good.

Spanish-language site Motorpasión is reporting that the plan to put dozens of “second life” batteries from used Nissan LEAF EVs to work at Enel Group’s Endesa plant in Melilla (first announced back in 2022), is now online, ensuring steady delivery of energy for over 90,000 people.

Due to its location on the African continent and south of the Strait of Gibraltar, Melilla is disconnected from both the mainland Spanish and Moroccan electricity grids, making it fully dependent on a single thermal power plant to supply electricity to its inhabitants. That can lead to surges in energy demand that can cause brownouts or rolling blackouts — a situation that’s all too common during the Mediterranean region’s extremely hot summer months.

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From the original press release:

As part of the collaboration, Nissan has provided the batteries from its electric vehicles and Loccioni, a system integrator, secured the proper integration between batteries needed for the circular process. The project leverages advanced technology based on a simple idea: once the useful life of a battery within an electric vehicle has come to an end, these batteries are recycled and assembled in a large stationary storage system. This system is integrated with Endesa’s Melilla facility to avoid the interruption of electricity supply during events of excessive load, to improve the reliability of the grid and secure the continuity of network service to the local population. The back-up generator is composed of 48 used Nissan LEAF batteries and 30 new ones.

NISSAN EUROPE

This new Second Life facility is capable of storing up to 4 MW of energy and delivering up to 1.7 MWh on its own into Melilla’s electrical grid. That’s not enough to keep things going for more than a few minutes, but it’s enough time to restore the system and restart the power supply without interrupting critical operations, and more than enough to relieve loads on the main plant during peak hours.

Nissan LEAF + Enel Second Life project

“This is a project we strongly believed in since day one,” explained Ernesto Ciorra, Enel Group’s Chief Innovability [sic] Officer. “We involved important partners alongside counting on the relentless dedication of our colleagues and on a real, operating plant where we could implement storage solutions through second-life batteries. And what would have been called impossible only a few years ago became possible, became real.”

Nissan is currently using LEAF batteries in similar large BESS systems in Japan, where the batteries are used as city-wide backup batteries in the event of natural disasters. Other companies are looking to similar concepts to power equipment on remote job sites, as well, showing that EV batteries are lasting longer — and serving more people! — than the oil lobbies would have you believe.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Motorpasion, Nissan.

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