Last year I bought an electric chainsaw and abused it. Here’s what it looks like now
Back in August of 2024, I wrote about buying an electric chainsaw for the first time. It was a Father’s Day present for my dad, who has several acres of property to manage and is reaching the point where even his dad strength isn’t enough to hand saw all day. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the current state of electric chainsaws, but I was excited to put the new machine to work. Fast forward a full year, and I’ve got an update: we’ve abused the heck out of it – and it’s still going strong!
Over the past 12 months, this Ego Power+ 18-inch 56-volt electric chainsaw has seen more wood than a mom-and-pop lumber mill. I’ve cut through your standard backyard trees, gnarly old branches, telephone poles, construction lumber, and plenty of 2x4s.
We’ve basically started treating it like a general-purpose tool. If anything is fiber-based and currently of a size that is larger than it should be, the standard response is “go grab the chainsaw…”.
And not just on nice sunny days either – this saw’s been dragged through rain, dust, and mud. And more than once it’s been used in situations that absolutely should have killed it: fully underwater.
At my parents’ place, a good-sized tree had fallen into their lake after the last big storm and needed to be cleared out. We had been putting it off due to the size of the thing, but the water level was rising, and soon it was going to be swamped. One of the most recent times I went over to visit my parents, my dad and I decided it was time to finally tackle the job. Unfortunately, by then the water had risen to the point where the tree trunk was already half-submerged, creating a navigational hazard for all the weird little electric boats I’ve dropped in that lake.
We started by trying to just cut the exposed portion, and I figured we’d then put a long line on the UTV and see if we couldn’t just break the rest of it free. But that’s where my dad’s more hours on the saw than mine played a key role: knowing he could keep pushing it. My dad waded in with the chainsaw and absolutely went to town. He had that thing so deep in the water, cutting through the massive trunk that if it had been a gas-powered chainsaw, it would have literally needed a snorkel to keep running.
And yet, it worked. Not just worked – it powered through. We pulled it out, dried it off, and then it was on to the next job.
The battery life has stayed impressive, the power is still solid, and the chain hasn’t even needed a replacement yet (though I should probably give it a sharpening one of these days). I’ve lost count of how many logs this thing has ripped through, and it’s never let me down.
There is one minor downside worth mentioning: the chain tensioner has gotten a bit stiff. It used to adjust nice and easy, but now it takes a little more effort to tighten. It still works, but you’ve got to put a bit of muscle into it. That’s literally the only wear-and-tear issue I’ve noticed after a full year of borderline tool abuse.
I expected an electric chainsaw to be a convenient, eco-friendly option for light-duty work. What I didn’t expect was a rugged, waterproof (apparently), do-it-all beast that could handle nearly anything I threw at it.
So here’s the one-year verdict: I bought an electric chainsaw, I used it for everything I possibly could (and some things I probably shouldn’t have), and it still works like a champ. If you’re wondering whether an electric chainsaw can hold up over time – this one has more than proven itself.
And if I ever buy a second one, I’ll try to keep it out of the pond. No promises, though.
Author’s note: On reading through this again to proofread, it almost sounds like an ad, but I promise it’s not (those have big “Sponsored” labels on them and I generally steer clear of those). This is just a chainsaw I bought for my dad and we’ve been thrilled with it one year later.
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First Solar just cut the ribbon on a huge new factory in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, and it dwarfs the New Orleans Superdome. The company’s $1.1 billion, fully vertically integrated facility spans 2.4 million square feet, or about 11 times the size of the stadium’s main arena.
The factory began production quietly in July, a few months ahead of schedule, and employs more than 700 people. First Solar expects that number to hit 826 by the end of the year. Once it’s fully online, the site will add 3.5 GW of annual manufacturing capacity. That brings the company’s total US footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when its newly announced South Carolina plant is anticipated to come online.
The Louisiana plant produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using US-made materials — glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel from Mississippi, which is fabricated into backrails in Louisiana.
The new factory leans heavily on AI, from computer vision that spots defects on the line to deep learning tools that help technicians make real‑time adjustments.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says the investment is already a win for the region, bringing in “hundreds of good-paying jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana workers and businesses.” A new economic impact analysis from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette projects that the factory will boost Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in its first full year at capacity. The average manufacturing compensation package comes in at around $90,000, more than triple the parish’s per capita income.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar framed the new facility as a major step for US clean energy manufacturing: “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that US reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”
This site joins what’s already the largest solar manufacturing and R&D footprint in the Western Hemisphere: three factories in Ohio, one in Alabama, and R&D centers in Ohio and California. Just last week, First Solar announced a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina, to onshore more Series 6 module work. By the end of 2026, the company expects to directly employ more than 5,500 people across the US.
Read more: First Solar pours $330M into a new South Carolina solar factory
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No, it’s not the new Bolt. GM’s design team previewed a new high-riding “sporty Chevrolet EV” that should be brought to life.
Is Chevy launching a new sporty EV?
This is the all-electric vehicle Chevy should sell in the US. General Motors’ design team released a series of sketches previewing a sporty new Chevy EV.
Although it kinda looks like the new 2027 Chevy Bolt EV as a higher-sitting compact crossover SUV, the design offers a fresh take on what it should have looked like.
The new Bolt is essentially a modernized version of the outgoing EUV model with a similar compact crossover silhouette. Nissan adopted a similar style with the new 2026 LEAF as buyers continue shifting from smaller sedans and hatchbacks to crossovers and SUVs.
Will we see the sporty Chevy EV in real life? It’s not likely. For one, the “exploration sketch” is by GM China Advanced designer Charles Huang.
GM Design posted the sketches on its global social media page, but the caption read “Sporty Chevrolet EV for the China Market.”
It’s too bad. The Bolt could use a sporty sibling like an SS variant. Chevy introduced the Blazer EV SS (check out our review) for the 2026 model year, its fastest “SS” model yet. Packing up to 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the Chevy Blazer SS can race from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds when using Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode.
Will the Bolt be next? I wouldn’t get my hopes up. And if GM does bring the sporty Chevy EV to life, it will likely only be sold in China. Like all the fun cars these days.
What do you think of the design? Would you buy one of these in the US? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
While deliveries of the 2027 Bolt are set to begin in early 2026, Chevy is offering some sweet deals on its current EV lineup, including up to $4,000 off in Customer Cash and 0% APR financing for 60 months.
Ready to test drive one? You can use our links below to find Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs at a dealership near you.
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Environment
Podcast: Electricity is the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss electricity becoming the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, the new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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