Energy efficiency news.
Rebate updates, policy changes, and technology developments — aggregated from 50+ sources, AI-enriched, and scored for relevance.
Velotric Summit 1 multi-terrain e-bike $300 off, Jackery 2,048Wh HomePower V2 400W solar bundle, rare Husqvarna deal, more
This roundup of deals touches on a few things that matter for home energy setups, alongside some outdoor power tools. Jackery's Member Sale includes a new 2,048Wh HomePower 2000 Plus V2 power station bundled with two 200W solar panels for $1,649. A setup like this can store solar power for backup use during outages or off-grid needs. Separately, the EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus, a smaller 572Wh power station, is back at its lowest price seen on Amazon. For yard maintenance, Husqvarna's Power Axe 225i cordless electric chainsaw (with a 4.0Ah battery) is discounted to $265, its best price in two years. There's also a DEWALT 20V MAX cordless miter saw with a 4.0Ah battery at $329. Battery-powered tools like these run on rechargeable packs instead of gas, which can matter if you're trying to cut down on fuel-powered equipment around the house. The roundup also includes e-bike discounts, including the Velotric Summit 1 Multi-Terrain e-bike at $1,699, part of a sale offering up to $550 off various models. None of these are tied to rebates or specific deadlines beyond the sales themselves, so the value here is mainly in the discounted pricing on solar and battery equipment that could fit into a home backup power or solar setup, plus some cordless yard tools at notably low prices.
Scania Launches 720-KM Battery Electric Truck, Hydrogen Stakeholders Double Down
Truck maker Scania has released a new heavy-duty electric truck for the European market that can travel almost 720 kilometers (about 474 miles) on a single charge. The company got there by adding extra battery packs behind the cab, on top of the batteries in the chassis, and redesigning the front of the truck to cut wind resistance, which improves range. This is squarely a commercial trucking development, not something that touches home energy systems, but it's a sign of how fast electric vehicle technology is moving. Faster charging is part of that shift too: new "megawatt charging" stations can take a truck battery from 20 to 80 percent in about 30 minutes, similar in spirit to the fast chargers showing up for electric cars. Alongside battery trucks, a group of companies including Volvo, Daimler, Toyota, Bosch, Air Liquide, and TotalEnergies announced a plan in Germany to expand hydrogen fuel cell trucks, an alternative that runs on hydrogen gas instead of batteries. Their argument is that hydrogen avoids the need for costly electrical grid upgrades, since it can be trucked in or produced on site rather than requiring high-power charging connections. Germany is offering incentives to make hydrogen trucks cheaper and hydrogen fuel more competitive with diesel. None of this changes anything for your house directly. But it reflects the same forces reshaping home energy: batteries getting cheaper and more capable, faster charging technology, and a real debate over whether batteries or hydrogen will win out for heavy-duty uses. That same battery-versus-hydrogen question shows up in some home heating and backup power discussions too.
Volkswagen Unveils Ridiculously Efficient “Mission Efficiency” — But Why?
Volkswagen has built a car it calls Mission Efficiency, showing off just how far electric vehicle design can go. It uses a very slippery body shape (a drag coefficient of 0.158, a measure of how easily air flows around a car) and averaged 6.89 kWh per 100 km on a real 1,278-kilometer test drive from Germany to Vienna, charging only once. That is a strikingly small amount of energy for that distance, better than most electric cars on the road today. The car also has a small solar panel built into its roof and trunk lid that can add up to 30 kilometers of range a day, and it uses efficient tires developed with Continental to cut rolling resistance. None of this is something you can buy. Volkswagen says the car uses the same motor, battery, and platform as its upcoming ID. Polo and ID. Cross models, but Mission Efficiency itself is a one-off prototype built to demonstrate what the company's engineers can do, not a product headed to dealerships. For a homeowner thinking about home energy upgrades, this doesn't change anything about your house or your options right now. It's mainly a signal that automakers are finding ways to squeeze more range out of the same batteries and motors already going into production cars, which could show up as small efficiency gains in electric vehicles you can actually buy in the next few years, including ones you might charge at home.
The world’s largest EV company just partnered with an African electric motorcycle company
This is international news with no direct tie to home energy upgrades, but here's what happened: Yadea, a Chinese company that makes more electric two-wheelers than anyone else in the world, is partnering with Spiro, an African electric motorcycle company, to build electric motorcycles and scooters for African markets. Spiro already runs more than 130,000 electric motorcycles across seven African countries, backed by over 2,500 battery-swapping stations, where riders trade a depleted battery for a charged one in minutes instead of waiting to plug in and recharge. Spiro says its riders have logged more than 50 million of these swaps and over two billion kilometers. Yadea will now supply electric two-wheelers for Spiro's markets, and the two companies plan to jointly design motorcycles built for local roads and heavy daily use by motorcycle taxi drivers and delivery riders. Spiro recently raised $270 million to keep expanding. For homeowners, this doesn't affect any energy-efficiency programs, rebates, or equipment for your house. It's a look at how electric vehicle manufacturing and battery-swapping infrastructure are scaling up in a different part of the world, pairing Chinese manufacturing volume with Spiro's experience keeping electric motorcycles running all day in African conditions.
Waymo Readying to Launch Robotaxis in Japan
This one is outside the home energy world Retrofit Relay usually covers, but here's what happened: Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Alphabet, is preparing to launch driverless robotaxis in Tokyo. The company has agreed with Japanese partners GO (a ride-hailing app) and Nihon Kotsu (a longtime taxi operator) to start commercial service in 2027, with no human driver in the vehicle. Waymo has already been testing in Tokyo since 2025, with its cars driving supervised by Nihon Kotsu staff to learn local streets, narrow roads, and crowded areas. Riders will eventually be able to hail either a regular taxi or one of Waymo's driverless cars through the existing GO app. Waymo already runs commercial robotaxi service in 15 US cities and says it completes over half a million paid trips a week. For homeowners, this doesn't connect to insulation, heat pumps, or rebate programs. It's a transportation and tech story, not an energy-efficiency one. If you're following it out of general interest in clean technology, the main things to know are the timeline (commercial launch targeted for 2027), the city (Tokyo), and the partners involved (Waymo, GO, and Nihon Kotsu). There's nothing here that changes what you'd do about your own house or utility bills.
What are some reliable online suppliers for buying construction materials in bulk?
The page linked here no longer exists. It appears to have been removed or moved, so there is no article content to summarize. If you were looking for guidance on buying construction materials in bulk, or on energy upgrades and rebates for your home, it's worth checking the source site directly or searching for the current version of that page. Since no details came through, there are no facts, dollar amounts, program names, or deadlines to pass along here. If you have another article or link with the actual content, share it and a proper summary can be put together for your home planning purposes.
Stark turns its 80 hp electric supermoto into a titanium-loaded blacked-out beast
This news is about an electric motorcycle, not a home energy upgrade, so it has no real bearing on your house or utility bills. Still, here's what happened: Stark Future, maker of an 80 horsepower electric supermoto (a street-legal dirt-bike-style motorcycle), is releasing a limited edition called the VARG SM Sköll. Only 500 numbered units will be built worldwide, with no plans for a second run, and first deliveries are set for October 2026. The Sköll keeps the same core hardware as the standard VARG SM — a 7.2 kWh battery built into the frame, a single-speed drivetrain, and the same motor and chassis — but nearly every part that can be blackened has been, through anodizing, powder coating, or other finishing rather than paint. Stark also swapped in 3D-printed titanium footpegs and a full titanium bolt kit, shaving about 1.1 kg (2.4 lb) off the bike, making it the lightest VARG SM the company has made. For a homeowner, this is just an item of curiosity in the electric-vehicle world, similar to other niche EV product launches. It doesn't involve any home electrical upgrades, charging equipment changes, or rebate programs. If you happen to own or want an electric motorcycle, the main practical note is that supply is capped at 500 units, so availability could be tight once deliveries begin.
Segway’s new 28 MPH MUXI Pro cargo e-bike gets automatic shifting and regen braking
This isn't really an energy-upgrade story for your house, but it's worth a quick note if you've been thinking about replacing car trips with a cargo e-bike. Segway has updated its compact MUXI cargo e-bike with a new "Pro" version, adding automatic electronic shifting (a 9-speed system that changes gears for you), front suspension, and regenerative braking, which recaptures some energy while braking, similar to how hybrid or electric cars work. The bike can hit a pedal-assisted top speed of 28 mph, and riders can adjust the speed class through an app depending on local e-bike laws, which vary by city and state. It's built to haul cargo and passengers, with a payload rating of 418 pounds and an optional passenger seat for riders up to 120 pounds. A 750-watt motor and 716-watt-hour battery give it a claimed range of up to 73 miles, though actual range will depend on how much weight you're carrying, the terrain, and how much pedal assist you use. The MUXI Pro also adds hill-descent control, traction control, integrated turn signals, fenders, and GPS tracking with theft-deterrent features. It weighs about 82 pounds and costs $1,999.99, with US sales starting September 22 through Segway dealers and its online store. If you're weighing whether an e-bike could replace some car trips and cut your household energy or fuel use, this is one more option to compare against other cargo e-bikes on the market.
Volvo’s new PHEVs beat the Toyota RAV4 with up to 78 miles of electric range
This is car news, not a home energy story, but here's what it means if you're weighing a vehicle purchase alongside home upgrades. Volvo has unveiled new versions of its XC60 and XC90 SUVs as plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), which run on a battery you charge like an electric car but also have a gas engine for longer trips. The new XC60 can go up to 78 miles on electric power alone, and the XC90 up to 73 miles, thanks to a much larger 41.2 kWh battery — more than double the size of the current models. That tops the Toyota RAV4 PHEV, which offers an EPA-estimated 54 miles of electric range, making the Volvo models the longest-range plug-in hybrids sold in the US. Both SUVs get styling and interior updates, plus a new infotainment system with Google's Gemini AI assistant. Production starts this fall, with deliveries expected in early 2027. Volvo hasn't announced pricing for these new versions, but for reference, the current 2026 XC60 PHEV starts at $62,545 and the XC90 PHEV at $77,595. Separately, Volvo is dropping its all-electric EX40 from the US lineup after the 2027 model year, with a smaller electric SUV called the EX50 expected to replace it around $50,000. None of this affects home energy rebates or upgrades directly, but if you're thinking about pairing a new vehicle with a home EV charger or solar setup, it's worth knowing what's coming to the market.
Tesla’s record month: 4 fatal Autopilot and Full Self-Driving crashes
This story is about Tesla's driver-assist crash reports, not a home energy topic, but here's the plain summary. Tesla reported 236 crashes involving Autopilot or "Full Self-Driving" (its driver-assist systems that require a human to stay in control) to federal safety regulators in July, the highest monthly count on record. Four of those crashes were fatal, and in each one Tesla's own data confirmed the driver-assist system was on at the time. None of these four deaths were publicly reported as involving Autopilot or FSD at the time they happened. The crashes occurred in Maryland, California (two cases), and Minnesota, killing a total of six people, including a motorcyclist and passengers. In every report, Tesla blacked out the details that would explain what went wrong: the written narrative of the crash, which software version was running, and whether the car was on a road the system is approved to handle. Other automakers with similar systems, like GM's Super Cruise, don't redact this information. Tesla has also told regulators it would face financial harm if this crash data became public. Separately, its crash reports appear to undercount deaths, since multi-fatality crashes are logged with just one "highest injury" figure. Tesla is currently under federal investigation over how it reports these crashes. This has no direct bearing on home energy upgrades, but it's relevant background for anyone weighing a Tesla alongside home solar or EV charging plans.
Tesla’s new Roadster teaser hints at a ‘Cyber’ redesign it doesn’t need
This is a car story, not a home energy upgrade story, so there's little here that affects your house directly. Tesla plans to unveil its long-delayed Roadster on October 1, more than eight years after first showing the car in 2017. A teaser suggests the production version will get the angular "Cyber" look Tesla has used on the Cybertruck and Cybercab, along with SpaceX cold gas thrusters meant to fire out the back for a burst of acceleration. Elon Musk says the car will hit 0-60 mph in under one second with the thrusters, and under two seconds without them. The thrusters are also tied to talk of the Roadster being a "flying car," though that claim has already been scaled back to a brief hover, and the demo car reportedly won't be street-legal or have a driver inside. The original 2017 reveal promised 620 miles of range, a sub-two-second 0-60, four seats, and a $200,000 base price, with a $250,000 Founders Series that sold out on deposits. Production has slipped repeatedly since then, and some early reservation holders have canceled. None of this involves rebates, efficiency programs, or home energy costs. If you're weighing an EV purchase against home solar to lower charging costs, that decision isn't affected by this Roadster news, which is really about styling, delays, and a flashy launch event rather than anything ready for buyers now.
BYD reveals the new Denza N8L EV, a smart luxury SUV with 960 km of range for about $45,000
This one's a car story, not a home upgrade story. BYD's luxury brand Denza has released an all-electric version of its N8L SUV, previously sold only as a plug-in hybrid. It starts at about $45,000 for the base Premium trim, with a higher Flagship trim at about $49,000. Both use a large 130.15 kWh battery pack, giving a rated range of up to 960 km (about 596 miles) under the Chinese CLTC testing standard, which tends to report higher numbers than the EPA ratings used in the US. The SUV can charge fast, going from 10% to 70% battery in about 5 minutes using an 800-volt electrical system, with a near-full charge in 9 minutes. It seats six, in a 2+2+2 layout, and comes loaded with premium touches like leather seating, a suede headliner, wood veneer trim, six digital screens, and a high-end sound system. It also includes driver-assist features and a voice assistant that can control smart home devices. None of this is available for purchase in the US market, and there's no mention of any American release plans or pricing conversion beyond the stated yuan figures. For homeowners, the relevant note is limited: if you already have or are considering a home EV charger, vehicles like this show where fast-charging technology is heading, but there's nothing here that changes your own upgrade or rebate planning.
NHTSA orders Tesla to prove its Cybercab is legal to sell, under oath
This story is about Tesla's driverless Cybercab, not home energy upgrades, but here's the plain-language rundown. The federal highway safety agency, NHTSA, has issued a formal legal demand ordering Tesla to prove under oath that its Cybercab robotaxi is legal to sell. The car has no steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors, and federal safety rules were written assuming a human driver. Tesla has until September 30 to respond, and the agency says false or incomplete answers could bring penalties up to $139 million, plus possible criminal charges for individuals who sign the response. Automakers normally certify their own vehicles as meeting safety standards rather than getting pre-approval, and NHTSA checks afterward. The agency argues Tesla certified the Cybercab as compliant even though several rules, including one requiring a foot-operated brake pedal, don't fit a car with no driver controls. A competitor building a similar no-wheel robotaxi, Amazon's Zoox, instead applied for and received a temporary federal exemption before charging for rides. Tesla skipped that process and began commercial service in Austin on September 3 without one. For now, this doesn't involve any home upgrade or rebate program. It's a regulatory dispute over whether Tesla's robotaxi meets existing car safety law, and it may affect where and how the Cybercab can operate while the question gets sorted out.
Is CarPlay coming back to GM EVs? Its new software update could be a hint
This is a car tech story rather than a home energy topic, but here's what happened: GM unveiled a new dashboard interface for its 2027 Sierra and Silverado pickup trucks that includes an updated version of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — the systems that let you run your phone's apps and maps on your car's screen. The new design uses a split screen, so CarPlay or Android Auto shows up in one window while GM's own controls for things like climate and vehicle range stay visible at the same time, instead of taking over the whole display. The bigger question is whether this is coming to GM's electric vehicles. Back in 2023, GM removed CarPlay support from its EVs, switching instead to software it built with Google. That decision frustrated some buyers who prefer the familiar CarPlay or Android Auto setup. GM's announcement describes the new interface as a "single scalable foundation across electric, gas and diesel-powered vehicles," which hints CarPlay could return to electric models too. However, GM has not confirmed this, and there's no announced timeline or list of which EVs might get it. For now, this doesn't change anything for current GM EV owners or shoppers — the change applies to next-generation gas trucks first. Anyone considering a GM EV who wants CarPlay should treat this as a possible future direction rather than a confirmed feature.
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 is a bit more expensive to lease this month, but it’s still a great deal
This one is about a car lease deal, not a home energy upgrade, so it falls outside what Retrofit Relay usually covers. Still, here's the gist for anyone weighing an electric vehicle purchase alongside home upgrades. Hyundai's IONIQ 5 electric SUV starts at $35,000 for 2026, one of the cheapest EVs on the market. Lease prices ticked up slightly this month: outside California, leases now start at $319 a month for 24 months with $4,999 due at signing, about $10 more than August, with up to $5,000 in total savings available. California buyers can lease starting at $329 a month and may qualify for an extra $3,500 discount through Hyundai's MyFirstEV program. Buyers can also choose 0% financing for up to 72 months with no payments due for 90 days. Compared to other EVs, the IONIQ 5 still looks like one of the better deals. The Toyota bZ, Tesla Model Y, and Kia EV3 all cost more per month once fees and upfront payments are factored in, except the EV3 Wind, which comes in cheaper but with less range, cargo room, and charging speed than the IONIQ 5. For homeowners thinking about pairing an EV with home upgrades like a heat pump or a Level 2 charger, this is mainly useful as a snapshot of current pricing rather than a rebate or incentive tied to your house. No federal tax credit applies here since that program expired last year.
Volvo Upgrades the XC60 & XC90 Plug-in Hybrids with Significantly More Fully Electric Range
Volvo is rolling out a mid-cycle refresh of its XC60 and XC90 SUVs for the 2028 model year, and the biggest change is a big jump in electric-only range for the plug-in hybrid versions. A plug-in hybrid runs on a battery for shorter trips and switches to its gas engine for longer ones. The updated XC60 plug-in hybrid gets up to 124 miles of electric range per charge, up sharply from before, thanks to a larger battery (41.2 kWh) now mounted under the floor instead of in the center tunnel. The XC90 plug-in hybrid gets the same battery and reaches about 102 miles of electric range. For most daily driving, that's enough to go a full work week without needing to plug in every night, though charging at home would still top it off. Beyond range, both SUVs get exterior design updates, new interior tech including Google Gemini voice assistance, and upgraded safety features such as automatic emergency braking and steering, collision avoidance, and alerts to prevent opening a car door into a passing cyclist. The XC90 also drops a lidar sensor from its earlier design. For homeowners who charge an EV or plug-in hybrid at home, this doesn't change anything about your home setup, but it's a sign that longer-range plug-in hybrids are becoming more practical as a bridge for people not ready to go fully electric. The XC60 for the US market will be built at Volvo's Charleston, South Carolina plant.
California moves to cut red tape for heat pumps, solar, and more
Two bills awaiting Governor Newsom's signature could make it cheaper and faster for California homeowners to install heat pumps, heat-pump water heaters, rooftop solar, and home batteries. Newsom has until September 30 to sign the Heat Pump Access Act (SB222) and the Remote Virtual Inspections Act (AB1738). Together, analysts say the bills could save homeowners hundreds of dollars, and in some cases more than $1,000, per project. The Heat Pump Access Act would replace inconsistent permitting rules across roughly 600 California cities and counties with a single statewide standard. Larger cities and counties would have to offer expedited or instant permitting by July 2028, limit projects to one permit instead of several, and cap permit fees at $150 for a heat-pump water heater and $200 for a heat pump. It would also stop homeowners associations from blocking or delaying these installations — one HOA held up a retiree's heat pump for seven months, costing her nearly $6,500 in incentives. The second bill would let homeowners request a remote inspection — done over a video call instead of an in-person visit — for heat pump, solar, and battery projects. In-person inspections often mean waiting hours for a check that takes minutes, adding an estimated $600 to $1,000 to project costs. Larger cities and counties would need to offer this option by January 2028, though inspectors could still require an in-person visit if needed. Several other states have passed similar streamlining laws for solar and battery permitting, and supporters expect more to follow if California's bills become law.
AHRI Shipment Report Shows 6 Months of Heat Pump Growth
New industry data shows heat pumps kept up a growth streak through the middle of 2026. Heat pump shipments across the country rose 17.6% in July compared to July 2025, the second-highest July total since this kind of tracking began in 2010. Heat pumps now make up 45.1% of all combined air conditioner and heat pump shipments, close to a record share. Air conditioners also grew, up 22.3% for the month, so the whole cooling market is having a strong year after a slow start in January and February. For furnaces, gas models rose slightly, while oil furnace shipments jumped 36.6%, though oil remains a small slice of the market overall. Water heaters moved the other way: both gas and electric storage water heaters saw shipments dip compared to last July, with electric models still outselling gas by a wide margin. Looking at the bigger picture, heat pumps have gone from roughly 3 in 10 cooling units sold in 2010 to about 4.5 in 10 today, a sign that more households are choosing heat pumps over traditional central air conditioning and gas furnaces when they replace equipment. Gas furnaces aren't disappearing, though — July 2026 was actually one of the strongest months for gas furnace sales in the report's history. If you're planning a heating or cooling replacement, this data suggests heat pumps are increasingly the mainstream choice, but conventional gas equipment remains widely available and still selling well.
HVAC equipment room in vented attic
A homeowner replacing attic insulation and an HVAC system asked how to handle equipment that would otherwise sit in a vented attic, where summer temperatures can top 130°F. Rather than leave the furnace, air handler, and evaporator coil exposed to that heat, the homeowner plans to build a small insulated equipment room inside the attic, sealed off with its own air barrier, and bury the new ductwork in insulation on the attic floor as current building code allows. The main questions were whether to insulate under the equipment room floor and whether the room needs a connection to the house's conditioned air. Building science experts responding to the post said insulating below the equipment room floor is fine, including using it for sound deadening, as long as the room itself stays conditioned (kept at a controlled temperature and humidity). They noted that connecting the equipment room's air to the rest of the house isn't strictly necessary, as long as the room is conditioned some other way. The homeowner suggested a simple option: a small insulated pipe linking the room to the house, placed away from the equipment itself. One expert also raised a separate issue: equipment noise. He recommended vibration isolators, springs or pads that keep the furnace or air handler from transmitting noise through the floor into the house, along with flexible duct connections. For anyone building a similar space to protect HVAC equipment from attic heat, insulation alone won't quiet things down as much as isolating the equipment mechanically.
Order 1920 4th Circuit Hearing to Determine Future of Cost-Effective Transmission Planning
A federal appeals court is set to hear a case that could shape how power grids are planned across the Southeast, including in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The case involves a 2024 federal rule meant to push utilities toward planning high-voltage transmission lines (the large lines that move electricity efficiently over long distances) on a regional, long-term basis, rather than each utility building smaller lines on its own. Groups including the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy argue the current approach in the Southeast has led to utilities piling up local, lower-voltage projects while avoiding the cost savings that come from sharing power across a wider region. Why this matters for your bill: utility spending on transmission gets passed on to customers. According to figures cited in the case, annual local transmission spending by three major Southeast utilities rose from about $500 million in the early 2000s to $2.5 billion in 2023, and keeps climbing. Advocates say better regional planning could slow that growth and make the grid more reliable during extreme weather, since weather has caused most power outages in recent decades. The groups are not asking the court to strike down the rule, but to keep it in effect while pushing regulators to fix gaps, particularly the fact that older, short-term planning rules still let utilities build smaller projects that can block more cost-effective regional solutions. There is no specific action for homeowners here, but the outcome could influence how much utility transmission costs show up on future electric bills.
Battery safety on multifamily housing
More apartment and condo buildings are adding solar panels paired with battery storage to cut energy costs, and a new report from Clean Energy Group looks at what that means for fire safety. The batteries used in most systems today are lithium-ion, which can occasionally enter "thermal runaway" — an uncontrolled overheating that leads to fire. The report notes these fires are rare and becoming rarer as technology, codes, and standards improve. For comparison, it points out that diesel generators, the kind sold at hardware stores, cause an estimated 100 deaths a year in the U.S., mostly from carbon monoxide poisoning. For residents of multifamily buildings with these systems, the report recommends that building owners and local fire departments make sure residents know where the batteries are located and what to do if there's a fire. As with most fires, evacuation is the standard response, since smoke from a battery fire can spread quickly and contains gases that may be harmful to people with asthma or heart conditions. The report found that contamination beyond the immediate fire area has not been a problem in past incidents in the U.S., since toxic gases tend to stay near the fire site and disperse quickly outdoors. After a fire, building owners are advised to work with environmental agencies to check air and water quality nearby. If your building has solar and battery storage, or is considering it, the report's main point is that clear communication about the system's location, purpose, and safety plan helps residents feel prepared rather than alarmed.
Gavin Newsom’s complicated legacy on climate and clean energy
California Governor Gavin Newsom's eight years in office end in January, and energy experts are weighing what his record means for the state's clean energy push. On the plus side, California added huge amounts of solar power, batteries, and electric vehicles while growing its economy, and Newsom pushed a mandate to end gas-car sales by 2035. But critics say he sided with utility companies over homeowners on several fronts. In 2023, regulators he appointed cut payments to new rooftop solar customers, and he vetoed bills that would have let homeowners' batteries and EVs help supply power to the grid during peak demand — a setup called a "virtual power plant" that could lower everyone's bills by reducing the need for backup gas plants. For homeowners, the bigger story may be cost. California electricity rates have climbed to roughly twice the U.S. average, even as the state's big utilities post record profits. High electricity prices make it harder to justify switching to an electric car or a heat pump (an efficient electric heating and cooling system), since the savings shrink when power itself costs more. Experts interviewed say this affordability problem, not clean energy itself, is the real threat to further progress — and that fixing it will take longer than any one governor's term. Whoever becomes California's next governor will inherit this rate problem along with unresolved fights over wildfire liability costs and utility spending, meaning homeowners in the state should expect the debate over electricity bills and rooftop solar rules to continue well past this transition.
The Repair That Rebuilt My HVAC System, Part 2
A homeowner and building science writer shares what happened when a broken part on his furnace turned into a full HVAC overhaul in his 1952 Cape Cod. What started as a repair for a failed high-pressure switch (a safety part that shuts off the system if refrigerant pressure gets too high) turned into a bigger project once he saw the whole picture: high static pressure (a sign of airflow resistance in the ducts), weak airflow to parts of the house, and an old, unused block chimney all pointing to the same fix. With the system already apart to recover the refrigerant, he decided to move the furnace and rebuild the ductwork rather than just patch the original problem. That meant redoing the gas piping, shortening the copper refrigerant lines, rewiring electrical connections, and rebuilding most of the supply ducts (which carry heated or cooled air into rooms) and all of the return ducts (which pull air back to the furnace). Some vent locations had to stay where they'd been since the house was built, since moving them wasn't practical, even though a modern layout might place them differently. He also found that his upper floor had only about half the airflow it needed, while the main floor and basement were fine, and he used the project to add a proper central return-air system. The bigger lesson for other homeowners: sometimes a single broken part reveals long-standing duct and airflow problems that are worth fixing at the same time, especially if the system already has to come apart for repair.
UL Solutions launches AC bidirectional EV charger certification program
A new certification program could make it cheaper for electric vehicles to send power back to the home or grid. UL Solutions, a testing and safety certification company, has opened testing for equipment built to a new standard called UL 1741 Supplement SC, which covers "bidirectional" EV chargers that let power flow both ways between a car and a home's wiring. This is different from vehicle-to-grid systems already sold by companies like dcbel, Sigenergy, and Wallbox, which use direct current (DC) and require an extra external inverter. The new AC-based approach works with cars that have their own built-in bidirectional inverter, skipping the external inverter and likely lowering equipment costs. The standard took over a decade to develop, building on a separate rule called SAE J3072 that lets cars and chargers from different manufacturers work together. In Europe, similar AC vehicle-to-grid technology is already running: automakers like Renault and BMW have paired it with low-cost home chargers, and a fleet in Utrecht, Netherlands, uses it to send extra solar power back into the local grid. For homeowners, this doesn't mean new equipment is on shelves yet, but it clears a regulatory path in the US for cheaper bidirectional chargers to reach the market. If you already have solar panels or are considering an EV, this is the kind of technology that could eventually let your car's battery power your home during an outage or send stored energy back to the grid.
Turning utility customer affordability into action
This piece is a utility-industry commentary, not news about a specific program or rebate. It argues that power companies are under growing pressure to keep bills affordable as they spend heavily on grid upgrades, new power supply, and resilience projects, and it lays out ideas for how utilities should respond. The suggestions include making it easier for customers to sign up for existing assistance and efficiency programs, cutting paperwork and enrollment hassles, and using customer usage data to flag people with unusually high bills so utilities can step in sooner. It also calls for utilities to weigh "affordability" alongside reliability and cost when deciding which grid projects to build and how fast, rather than treating customer bill impact as an afterthought. For homeowners, there is no new rebate, deadline, or program named here. The practical takeaway is that utilities may be starting to offer smoother enrollment for existing bill-assistance or efficiency programs and better outreach to households with high bills, since that is the "near-term action" the piece describes. If you are struggling with your utility bill or think you might qualify for assistance or an efficiency program, it is worth checking with your own utility or state energy office to see what is currently offered, since specifics vary by company and location and none are named in this piece.
Insulation Retrofit Zone 6 – Roof Question
A homeowner in a cold climate (building zone 6) posted a question on an online forum about insulating an old house's roof, which has 2x6 rafters. The rafters are shallow, and the poster wondered how to reach a common insulation target (R49) using closed-cell spray foam, since doing so would mean filling the whole cavity and adding more foam below the rafters, which struck them as impractical. Deepening the rafters by attaching extra lumber alongside them, another common fix, did not seem workable for this house either. As of this writing, the forum thread had only one reply, a one-word question asking for clarification, so no real guidance had been posted yet. This is a good example of a common attic and roof insulation puzzle in older homes with narrow rafters: hitting recommended insulation levels often requires either building down from the rafters with rigid foam, adding a service cavity, or considering an unvented approach in combination with foam, batts, or dense-packed insulation. If your own house has shallow rafters and you're weighing a roof insulation upgrade, the trade-offs between cost, headroom loss, and moisture safety are worth discussing with someone who can look at your specific framing and climate details before you commit to a method.
Get ready for GSC 2027: Program launch, registration open
This news is about a conference, not a home upgrade program, so it doesn't offer rebates or direct steps for your own house. The Green Schools Conference will be held Feb. 8–10, 2027, in Austin, Texas, bringing together school leaders, educators, and sustainability professionals to talk about healthier, more energy-efficient school buildings. Sessions planned for the event touch on topics that echo what many homeowners deal with too, like upgrading HVAC systems to handle extreme heat and building climate resilience with limited contractor access, but the focus is squarely on schools and districts, not individual homes. Registration is open now, with early bird pricing through Nov. 30, and a discounted hotel rate available at the Hyatt Regency Austin if booked by Jan. 11, 2027. For a homeowner tracking energy-efficiency news, this is more of a heads-up on where the conversation around school building upgrades is headed than something that changes what's available for your own house. If you're curious how these ideas eventually trickle down to residential programs or rebates, it may be worth keeping an eye on future coverage, but there's nothing here to act on for your own energy upgrades right now.
EPA poised to scrap power plant carbon standards
The EPA is expected to formally roll back federal limits on carbon pollution from fossil fuel power plants, completing a series of climate rule repeals under the Trump administration. The move would undo standards put in place under the Obama and Biden administrations and could make it harder for future administrations to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants at all. For homeowners, this doesn't change anything about your utility bill or your house directly, but it does affect the electricity that powers it. Power plants are the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, and city and environmental groups warn that fewer limits on that pollution mean more public health and infrastructure risks, especially in cities. They also note that cleaner power plants have a ripple effect: less pollution from electricity generation helps offset emissions from buildings and cars, since both increasingly run on electricity. The EPA has estimated the repeal would save the power sector about $1.2 billion a year, plus another $120 million a year from rolling back mercury emission rules. But when the original standards were issued in 2024, the agency projected they would deliver $370 billion in net benefits over twenty years. Legal fights are already underway over related rollbacks, including lawsuits from dozens of states and cities, so this repeal is likely to face court challenges too. For now, it's a shift in federal policy on power-plant pollution, not a change to any rebate or program that homeowners use directly.
The hidden cost of utility customer vulnerability
A new industry report looks at why more households are struggling to pay utility bills, and why utilities themselves often don't reach the people who need help. It's sponsored content from a utility-industry vendor, not independent reporting, but the numbers are worth knowing if you've felt squeezed by your own energy bills. About 1 in 6 U.S. families is currently behind on utility payments, and roughly a third worry frequently about how they'll cover their bill. Notably, this is no longer limited to lower-income households in the way it once was. The bigger point for homeowners: assistance programs for bill relief and efficiency upgrades often already exist, but people don't know about them. The report cites that about 40% of lower-income customers aren't aware assistance programs exist, and there's a similar awareness gap for energy-efficiency programs. Part of the disconnect is how utilities communicate — many customers prefer email, but utilities tend to rely on messages printed on the bill itself, which about half of customers say they only sometimes read. There's no new program or deadline announced here. But if you've been struggling with a utility bill or wondering about efficiency upgrades, it may be worth checking directly with your utility or state energy office for rate-relief, income-based payment plans, or efficiency rebates you might not have heard about through your bill alone. Programs vary by utility and state, so what's available depends on where you live.
Distributed refrigeration gets a natural boost with CO₂
This news is about grocery store refrigeration, not home equipment, but it's worth knowing about if you're tracking where the refrigerant industry is headed. A company called Copeland has built a new compressor that lets grocery stores and convenience stores use CO₂ as a refrigerant in smaller, spread-out cooling systems, instead of one big centralized unit. CO₂ has a very low global warming potential compared to the chemical refrigerants (HFCs and HCFCs) long used in refrigeration, so this is part of the broader industry shift away from high-warming refrigerants. The technical details are aimed at equipment makers and store operators: the new compressor can handle the high pressures CO₂ needs, comes in versions that adjust speed to match cooling demand, and uses a process that makes the whole system simpler to install and maintain. The pitch is that stores get the flexibility of smaller, distributed cooling units placed around a building rather than one central system, with less refrigerant piping, better redundancy if one unit fails, and the option to reuse waste heat for building heating. None of this involves home HVAC or refrigeration equipment, and there's no rebate, deadline, or homeowner program mentioned. But the same industry-wide move toward low-warming refrigerants like CO₂ is already reshaping home air conditioners and heat pumps, so seeing it show up in commercial refrigeration is another sign of where refrigerant rules and technology are heading across the board.
State policy design dictates U.S. community solar growth as national contraction takes hold
Community solar lets you buy into a shared solar project and get credits on your electric bill, without installing panels on your own roof. New data shows this market is growing fast in only a few states, while most of the country has slowed down due to permitting delays, grid connection backlogs, and weaker program rules. For the third quarter in a row, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon were the only states where community solar capacity grew by more than 1%. Maine, once a strong market, has cooled off after lawmakers scaled back its billing program. The states that keep growing share a few features: they require projects to be owned by independent companies rather than utilities, they guarantee subscribers a real discount on their power bills, and they lock in payment rates for 20 to 25 years so projects can get financed. New York's program guarantees at least 5% bill savings and offers extra discounts for lower-income households. New Jersey requires more than half of each project's capacity go to low- and moderate-income subscribers, with a minimum 15% bill discount. Oregon locks in fixed credit rates for 20 years and reserves part of each project for low-income households. Massachusetts folds community solar into its broader solar incentive program, guaranteeing 20% savings for regular subscribers and 40% for low-income ones. If you're weighing whether community solar is available where you live, this is worth checking with your state's energy office or utility commission, since access, savings, and rules vary widely depending on where these stronger protections exist.
Trump topples the last pillar of Biden’s climate agenda
The Environmental Protection Agency is scrapping the last federal rule limiting carbon emissions from power plants. The rule, finalized under Biden in 2024, gave coal-burning utilities a choice: retire their plants in the 2030s, or install equipment to capture nearly all the carbon dioxide from their smokestacks. Trump's EPA now plans to remove those requirements entirely, arguing the science on climate change is uncertain and that the change will lower power bills. Because the rule never actually took effect before being repealed, this mainly removes a future push toward cleaner power rather than reversing something already happening at your local plant. Coal use in the U.S. has been falling for two decades anyway, mostly because cheap natural gas from fracking made gas plants more attractive than coal. But that decline may now slow. Rising electricity demand from data centers running AI has pushed some utilities to delay coal plant retirements that were previously planned. One example: a Mississippi coal plant originally set to close by 2028 will now likely run into the 2030s. For homeowners, the direct effect isn't upgrades or rebates — those programs are separate from this rule. The bigger implication is public health and long-term power-sector emissions: the Biden rule was projected to prevent hundreds of thousands of asthma flare-ups and over a thousand premature deaths annually by 2035, benefits that are now unlikely to materialize on that timeline. Coal plants also emit mercury and particulate pollution beyond carbon dioxide, so slower plant closures generally mean more of that pollution regionally.
EPA plans to raise your health costs by $120B on Monday
The EPA plans to announce a new policy that would remove limits on greenhouse gas pollution from coal and gas power plants. Those limits, put in place under the Obama and Biden administrations, were projected to save Americans $120 billion in health costs over the next two decades by reducing asthma attacks, emergency room visits, missed school and work days, and premature deaths. Rolling them back would erase those savings and raise health costs instead, though the EPA is not currently calculating or reporting those impacts as part of its policy decisions. This move is part of a broader pattern of federal energy policy changes that tend to raise costs for households, including a separate rollback of fuel efficiency standards estimated to add $1.4 trillion in costs and raise gas prices, along with subsidies directed toward coal power. Courts have blocked some of these efforts before, and legal challenges to this power plant rule are likely, though outcomes have been mixed in the past on greenhouse gas cases. For your own house, the direct effect isn't yet clear. Coal plants are still not being newly built regardless of this rule, since they remain costly compared with wind and solar. But easing pollution rules on gas plants could make it cheaper and faster to build the gas plants increasingly used to power data centers, which have already been pushing electricity prices up in some areas. Whether that translates into higher bills or health costs where you live will depend on your local grid and state policies, which are worth checking directly.
From Recruiting to Reviews: Inside Atticman’s Growth Strategy
This one is more about how a heating and cooling company runs its business than about anything homeowners can act on. Mario Lopez, owner of Atticman Heating, Air Conditioning, and Insulation in Sacramento, talked on a podcast about how his company has grown since he started it in 2015. His approach centers on hiring and training people continuously, rather than waiting for already-experienced technicians to show up looking for work. Lopez also described a two-speed approach to customer service: the company moves fast when responding to leads and finishing jobs, but slows down during the actual service visit to focus on building a relationship with the customer and improving their experience. There's no new program, rebate, or technology here that changes what an upgrade might cost or how to qualify for one. It's a look inside how one contractor thinks about staffing and customer service, which mostly matters if you're evaluating who to hire for heating, cooling, or insulation work and want a sense of what a growth-focused company prioritizes — quick response times and attentive in-home visits, in this case.
EPA just raised health costs by $2.8T, will kill thousands per year (upd.)
The EPA has finalized a rule that removes limits on greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, undoing regulations put in place under Presidents Obama and Biden. The agency also announced a separate rule that would try to stop the EPA from ever setting limits on power plant pollution in the future. An outside analysis from the Environmental Defense Fund estimates the rollback will cost about $1 trillion in health costs and $1.8 trillion in climate-related damages, and cause thousands of premature deaths, hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks, and tens of thousands of missed school and work days each year. For homeowners, this doesn't change any rebate program or upgrade incentive directly, but it points to a broader shift in federal energy policy. Coal plants are still declining regardless of the rule, but the change may make it easier for new gas-fired power plants to be built without pollution limits, including plants going up to power data centers. More gas generation tied to fewer restrictions could mean higher electricity costs and health-related costs in areas near those plants over time. The rule is expected to face legal challenges, since the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases, and courts have blocked similar rollback attempts before. Whether this rule survives, and whether it actually changes what power plants get built in your area, is not yet settled.
UL launches program for vehicle-to-grid certification
UL Solutions, a product safety testing organization, has launched a new certification program for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. V2G lets a parked electric vehicle send power back to the grid when demand is high, then recharge later when demand drops. Since most cars sit parked most of the time, this setup could turn a home EV into a small backup power source that also helps the local grid handle peak demand. The certification covers the equipment that connects an EV to your home or the utility system, sometimes called bidirectional EV supply equipment, testing it against a new safety standard (UL 1741 Supplement SC) to confirm it works safely and meets utility connection rules. It's meant to work with EVs that have onboard two-way inverters built to a companion standard (SAE J3072). Related certification also covers "power export equipment," under a separate standard, UL 9741. Testing is available now at UL labs in Fremont, California, and Northbrook, Illinois. For homeowners, this is not a rebate or incentive announcement — it is a safety and standards step that clears the way for more V2G products to reach the market with recognized certification. If you already have or are considering an EV with two-way charging capability, this kind of certification is part of what utilities and installers will likely look for before allowing a vehicle to send power back to your home or the grid. No specific products, costs, or availability dates were announced.
Siga Majrex
This is a homeowner forum discussion, not a news story, so there is no policy or rebate update here. Someone building a new house in a wet, humid part of southeast Alaska asked about a product called Siga Majrex, a membrane that lets moisture pass through in only one direction. The idea is to keep indoor moisture from getting into the wall while still letting the wall dry out. The builder already has 3 inches of foil-faced polyiso foam board on the outside of the walls, taped at the seams, plus standard fiberglass insulation in the wall cavities. Foil-faced foam already blocks moisture on its own, acting like a vapor barrier. A building-science expert who replied pointed out that because the foil-faced foam already seals the outside so well, adding Majrex on the inside would not add much benefit — any similar "smart" vapor membrane, or even just painted drywall, would work fine in this case. The original poster agreed, noting that Majrex is not cheap, so he plans to leave it out of most rooms but may still add it in bathrooms, where extra moisture from showers is a bigger concern. For a homeowner reading this, the general lesson is simple: vapor-control products like Majrex are useful for stopping moisture problems inside walls, but whether you need one depends on what other materials your walls already have. If your walls already include a foil-faced or foam vapor barrier, an added interior membrane is often unnecessary except in high-moisture rooms like bathrooms.
An Idaho county banned renewables. It’s having second thoughts.
A rural Idaho county's fight over solar and wind power shows how communities are rethinking earlier bans on renewable energy. Bannock County banned utility-scale solar and wind development in 2024 after residents worried about losing farmland and changing the look of their valley. Now the county commission is considering a new ordinance that would allow solar, wind, and nuclear projects, with a vote expected this fall. The reversal reflects Idaho's growing power needs — the state's largest utility expects electricity demand to rise sharply by 2030 — along with the tax revenue and lease payments that renewable projects can bring to struggling rural areas. The debate splits the county. Some landowners want the right to lease their land to solar developers for income that could help sustain family farms hurt by drought. Others argue solar developments would industrialize farmland and worry about risks like battery fires, pushing instead for nuclear power, which polls show most county residents favor. The new draft ordinance includes rules developers would have to follow, such as posting bonds for eventual removal of equipment and helping local fire departments prepare for battery-related emergencies. For homeowners elsewhere, this story is a reminder that local zoning and county ordinances — not just state or federal policy — often decide whether solar and wind farms get built nearby, which can affect regional power supply, land use, and local tax bases. Nationally, about one in four counties now have some kind of restriction on renewable energy development, most of them rural, so the tension playing out in Bannock County is not unique.
Forum Explores Financial Strategies for HVAC Contractors
This one is worth a quick note but doesn't change anything about your home directly. A trade group called The Unified Group held a financial forum in Denver in August, bringing together financial staff from HVAC contracting companies around the country. The sessions covered internal business topics: tracking performance metrics, structuring financial departments, calculating labor costs, and handling insurance arrangements between companies. There was also a panel on how artificial intelligence is starting to show up in HVAC business operations. None of this touches rebates, equipment costs, or installation timelines for homeowners. It's a look at how contracting companies run their internal finances, not a policy or pricing change. If anything, better financial management at contracting firms could mean more stable, better-run companies for customers to hire, but that's a long-term, indirect effect rather than anything you'd notice on your next service call or system quote. If you're currently planning a heating or cooling upgrade, this news doesn't affect your options, rebates, or costs. It's more relevant to people who own or manage HVAC companies than to someone deciding whether to install a heat pump or seal up their attic. Worth skipping unless you're curious about how the contracting side of the industry organizes itself behind the scenes.
The Chevy Silverado EV is now America’s most affordable full-size electric pickup
Ford has discontinued the F-150 Lightning electric pickup, which means the Chevy Silverado EV is now the cheapest full-size electric truck you can buy new. The 2027 Silverado EV starts at $53,200 for the base Work Truck trim, about $400 more than the 2026 version. Other trims saw increases of $200 to $400, and two trims, the 4LT and the RST Stars and Stripes special edition, have been dropped. GM hasn't confirmed final specs yet, but the outgoing 2026 base model offers up to 286 miles of range on its standard battery, 424 miles with the extended-range battery, and 493 miles with the top Max battery. The 2027 lineup brings back the off-road Trail Boss trim, which sits about 2 inches higher for better ground clearance and adds all-terrain tires, a redesigned front end, and other trail-focused touches. Even with the price bump, the Silverado EV still costs less than competing electric trucks like the GMC Sierra EV, Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian R1T, and GMC Hummer EV. If you're weighing an electric pickup, this changes the field: the Lightning is gone, and the Silverado EV takes over as the value option among full-size EV trucks, at least for now. Ford's upcoming Fathom model and Slate's first truck are both expected to arrive later, which could shift the affordability picture again. In the meantime, dealers may still be clearing out remaining 2026 Silverado EV inventory before the 2027 model takes over showroom floors.
SanCo2 Issues
A homeowner on a building forum shared a question about their hot water setup, and it's a useful real-world look at a common heat-pump water heater quirk. The homeowner had switched from a propane boiler to heat pumps for home heating, then replaced their old water heater tank with a SanCo2 unit, an 83-gallon heat pump water heater that stores heated water separately from its compressor. They installed the compressor in a basement that stays around 50-60 degrees in winter and are happy with the efficiency overall. The problem: after being away from home for four or five days, the water isn't as hot as some household members like. The homeowner suspects the unit waits until the tank cools below a certain temperature, maybe around 110 degrees, before the compressor kicks back on to reheat it, so returning home to a tank that's drifted down leaves less hot water than usual. They're considering reconnecting their old propane boiler as a backup heat source for the tank, but worry that mixing systems could disrupt how the SanCo2 tank naturally layers hot and cool water inside, a feature that helps it run efficiently. If you have a heat pump water heater and travel regularly, this is worth knowing: these units are typically sized and tuned for steady daily use, and extended absences can mean a cooler tank greets you when you return. It's a tradeoff some owners accept for the efficiency gains, but it's a real quirk rather than a malfunction.
Constellation Energy in deal to buy 609-MW Rhode Island gas plant from Shell
Constellation Energy is buying a large gas-fired power plant in Rhode Island from Shell for $715 million. The plant, called the Rhode Island State Energy Center, sits in Johnston, R.I., and can generate 609 megawatts of electricity. It runs on natural gas and feeds power into the New England electric grid. In a separate deal, Shell is buying a smaller gas plant portfolio in Pennsylvania that serves the mid-Atlantic grid. Both sales are expected to close in early 2027. For homeowners, this is a behind-the-scenes shift in who owns the power plants supplying the regional grid, not a change to rates, service, or programs you'd sign up for directly. If you live in Rhode Island or elsewhere in New England, the electricity in your outlets may increasingly come through infrastructure owned by Constellation rather than Shell, but your utility bill and service provider likely stay the same. The bigger picture: deals like this are becoming more common as power companies scramble to add generating capacity, partly to keep up with rising electricity demand from data centers running artificial intelligence. That demand growth is one reason industry analysts expect continued buying and selling of power plants. Over time, this kind of consolidation and capacity expansion can affect regional electricity prices and grid reliability, both of which matter for your monthly bill and how often the lights stay on, though this particular transaction doesn't come with any immediate changes for individual households.
Benchmarking ES Foundry in a dynamic and diversified U.S. cell production landscape
This is a story about where American solar panels come from, not something that changes your options right now, but it's worth knowing about if you're weighing solar for your home. Since 2022 federal incentives pushed most U.S. solar investment into assembling finished panels, while the solar cells inside those panels (the part that actually converts sunlight into electricity) mostly still came from overseas, especially Indonesia. One company, ES Foundry, set out to change that by focusing only on making cells, rather than both cells and panels together like some competitors. It retrofitted an old Fujifilm camera and photo-paper factory in Greenwood, South Carolina, starting production in early 2025 with a 1 gigawatt cell line. By the end of 2025 that line was running at full capacity, and the company now plans to triple output to 3 gigawatts by the end of 2026. ES Foundry chose an older, well-proven solar cell technology called PERC rather than newer options, because it's easier to get consistent quality while training a new workforce and rebuilding U.S. manufacturing know-how. The company says materials like paste and chemicals used in cell production are still mostly imported from China, though it sees more domestic suppliers starting to invest here too. For homeowners, none of this changes rebates or prices today, but it points toward more solar panels down the road being made with U.S.-manufactured cells rather than imported ones.
Blackstone-TXNM deal faces fresh questions from New Mexico DOJ
If you're a customer of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), a utility dispute over its parent company's ownership is still playing out, and it could touch your electric bill down the road. TXNM Energy, PNM's parent, is being bought by the investment firm Blackstone. Earlier this year, New Mexico regulators voided a $400 million stock sale tied to that deal, saying it needed the state's approval first. TXNM has since unwound the sale, repaying the money through a new loan and canceling the shares involved. Now the New Mexico Department of Justice says it doesn't have enough information to confirm that this financial fix won't end up costing PNM customers indirectly. TXNM has acknowledged the added debt could weaken its financial standing, and the DOJ wants details on the loan terms and the company's own estimates of the impact before signing off. PNM says the issue is resolved and maintains customers are protected. For homeowners served by PNM, none of this changes your rates or service today. But it's part of a broader, ongoing review of the Blackstone-TXNM deal, which still needs approval from New Mexico regulators and remains tied up with related questions about how much public benefit and consumer protection such utility sales must guarantee. The companies have given themselves until May 2027 to walk away from the deal if it doesn't get approved, so this saga has a while left to run.
Toyota is delaying the Highlander EV, but there’s a bigger problem brewing
This is auto industry news rather than home energy news, so it does not touch on rebates or upgrades for your house. Here is the plain summary. Toyota has pushed back the launch of its electric Highlander SUV, which was originally due to start production this month at its Georgetown, Kentucky plant, with dealer deliveries by the end of 2026. The company now says production won't start until at least early 2027, and the vehicle will arrive as a 2028 model instead. Toyota hasn't explained the delay beyond saying it needs to make unspecified "adjustments" before launch. The bigger issue is a possible supply gap. Toyota plans to keep building the current gas and hybrid Highlander only through December, and dealers already had just a 20-day supply as of mid-September. That means buyers could find few or no Highlanders on lots for months before the electric version shows up. A related model, the Subaru Getaway, built on the same platform in the same plant, faces the same delay. When the electric Highlander does arrive, it will come in XLE and Limited trims, with front- or all-wheel drive and a choice of two battery sizes offering up to 287 or 320 miles of range depending on configuration. It seats up to seven and includes a new infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It will be Toyota's fourth EV in the US, joining the bZ, C-HR, and bZ Woodland, but the delay gives competitors like Hyundai's IONIQ 9 and Kia's EV9 more time to attract three-row SUV shoppers first.
Another Reason To Love EVs: Costco Is Rationing Motor Oil
Motor oil is getting harder to find and more expensive, and it's showing up at Costco. The warehouse club raised the price of its Kirkland Signature full-synthetic motor oil to $58 for a 10-quart pack, up from the mid-$30s, and now limits members to one purchase at a time, with a cap of two per week. The cause is a squeeze on base oil, the raw material refiners turn into finished motor oil. The U.S. imports most of its base oil, and the ongoing war in Iran has disrupted shipping and pushed up crude prices, making it more profitable for refiners to turn oil into gasoline and diesel than into lubricant. Regional attacks near Middle East shipping routes have added to the strain. None of this touches homes directly, but it matters for anyone weighing a gas car against an electric one. Fully electric vehicles never need oil changes, so this price spike and rationing simply don't apply to them. Plug-in hybrids and extended-range EVs still use oil, so they're not fully insulated either. For gas-powered cars, motor oil is only an occasional cost, but rising prices add another line item to what it costs to keep a gas vehicle running over time. Separately, Costco is currently offering members a discount on three all-electric Volvo models — the EX90, EX40, and EX30 — worth $1,000 to $2,000 depending on the model and membership level. That offer runs through November 2 and can be combined with other manufacturer or state incentives, though the federal EV tax credit is no longer available.
Electric Trucks Will Take Center Stage At IAA Transportation Show In Hannover This Week
This week's IAA Transportation show in Hannover, Germany is putting electric trucks and vans on full display, a sign of how far ahead Europe is compared to the US on electrifying delivery and freight vehicles. More than 700 exhibitors are showing off battery-powered trucks and vans, including familiar names like Daimler, Volvo, Renault, and Ford, along with a growing number of Chinese manufacturers entering the European market. This isn't directly about home energy upgrades, but it points to a broader shift: as diesel prices climb, electric commercial vehicles are becoming more competitive on cost, which could eventually affect delivery services, local trucking, and the pace of electrification spreading into everyday life. The biggest attraction is Tesla's Semi, making its European debut. It's built on the same technology as the US version, with an 800-volt electrical system, three motors, and fast charging designed to work with Tesla's own high-speed charging network. The European model trades some driving range for extra cargo capacity, since European trucking rules allow slightly higher weights and different trailer sizes than in the US. For homeowners, the direct takeaway is limited, but the trend is worth noting. Electric delivery vans from companies like Ford, Kia, Volkswagen, and Renault are also on display, and some of these vehicles may eventually show up making deliveries in your area. The broader momentum toward electric trucks and vans in Europe, driven partly by rising fuel costs, mirrors the same economic logic behind home electrification: as operating costs shift, electric options increasingly make more financial sense.
TAR aims to build off-grid power for data centers in just six months
An Austin startup called TAR says it can build power systems for data centers in under six months, without connecting to the electric grid. The company, whose name stands for "transformative American resources," just raised $120 million, with $100 million coming from Spark Capital. Its approach relies mainly on solar power and battery storage rather than the gas generators many data center projects use. TAR builds its own modular blocks of solar panels, batteries, and power equipment, which lets it skip the years-long wait many projects face to connect to the grid. The company handles everything from picking the site to construction and long-term upkeep. Its first project is with an unnamed large customer in West Texas, where it's also finishing a manufacturing plant this month. TAR chose the region for its sunshine, open land, and energy workforce. The company has 40 employees now and plans to hire 100 more. TAR says it's deliberately overbuilding solar and battery capacity, with some gas backup for emergencies, to keep power reliable without leaning on fossil fuels the way competitors do. This costs more upfront and requires more land, but the founders argue it avoids the price swings and fuel costs tied to gas. The company also plans to use robotics to speed up construction and sources most of its equipment domestically to avoid supply delays. This story is about power for data centers, not home energy systems, but it points to how quickly clean-energy technology like solar and battery storage is being deployed at large scale.
What Teddy Roosevelt Knew and Trump Doesn’t Get: Public Lands Need Science
This is policy news about federal land management, not something that changes what a homeowner can do at home, but it touches on wildfire risk, which matters if you live near forest or wildland areas. The Trump administration has cut staff and research programs at the US Forest Service, including work on wildfire behavior, fire and smoke modeling, and long-term forest health monitoring. The Forest Inventory and Analysis program, which tracks forest health nationwide using more than 300,000 monitoring plots, has also been affected by staffing cuts. Separately, the Bureau of Land Management cut staff by 20% over the past year, straining a rangeland monitoring program that had already recorded a 19% drop in healthy rangeland between 2022 and 2024. The administration also shrank Bears Ears National Monument in Utah by 91% (about 1.3 million acres) and proposed rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule, which currently limits road-building, logging, and drilling on millions of acres of wilderness. Because most wildfires in the continental US are human-caused, opening more roadless land to activity could raise ignition risk in those areas. The BLM also moved to fast-track oil and gas drilling in Alaska's North Slope with fewer environmental reviews. None of this requires action from homeowners directly, but for anyone in or near wildfire-prone areas, reduced federal wildfire research and monitoring could mean less data available to communities and local agencies making decisions about fire risk in the coming years.
Could Trump Throw US Automakers Under The Chinese Electric Car Bus?*
Chinese-made electric cars still face a 100% tariff in the US, which has kept them off American roads and helped traditional automakers keep selling gas-powered vehicles. But the Trump administration has reportedly signaled it would not block Chinese automakers from building factories inside the US itself, in places like Tennessee or Alabama. That would sidestep the import tariff entirely, since the cars would be made on US soil. Whether this actually happens is uncertain. Chinese EV makers rely on a huge, low-cost supply chain built up in China over years, and that network doesn't exist in the US. Setting up factories here would mean higher costs, and Chinese companies have plenty of other markets — Asia, Europe, South America, Africa — where they can sell cars without dealing with unpredictable US trade policy. So for now, no Chinese automaker appears to be rushing to build here. For homeowners, this is background news rather than something with immediate effect. It does not change today's EV prices, incentives, or model availability. If Chinese automakers did eventually build plants in the US, it could mean more electric vehicle options and more competition on price down the road, but that's speculative and nothing concrete has been announced. Nothing here changes rebates, tax credits, or charging equipment available to homeowners right now.