Michelle Lewis

4 days ago | electrek.co | Michelle Lewis

Time-of-use electricity plans are hardly a new concept, but what makes Octopus Energy’s new time-of-use plan, OctopusFlex, great is that it’s ridiculously simple. It rewards its customers in Lubbock, Texas, for using power between 10 pm and 6 am with cheaper rates, when the grid is quieter and cleaner. That means big savings for choosing to run your dishwasher or washer and dryer at night or charging your EV while you sleep.

4 days ago | electrek.co | Michelle Lewis

EV and renewable investments in the US are stalling – and May was another tough month. Businesses canceled $1.4 billion worth of clean energy factories and projects last month, according to the latest numbers from E2 and the Clean Economy Tracker. That pushes total canceled investments to $15.5 billion this year, wiping out nearly 12,000 potential jobs.

1 week ago | electrek.co | Michelle Lewis

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?

1 week ago | electrek.co | Michelle Lewis

Ireland has officially pulled the plug on coal power – the country shut down coal operations at Moneypoint, its only coal-fired power station and largest electricity generation station. That makes Ireland the sixth European country to fully kick coal out of its electricity mix. This big milestone didn’t happen overnight. At the start of the 2000s, wind energy made up just 1% of Ireland’s electricity. Now, it supplies over a third (37%) of the country’s power.

1 week ago | electrek.co | Michelle Lewis

Electric Era just installed six fast EV charging stalls in 54 days from contract to go-live at a Costco in Northport, Florida. That kind of speed is rare in the EV charging world, and it’s thanks to a clever battery-backed system that skips a lot of the usual headaches like grid upgrades and long permitting delays. Seattle-based Electric Era signed the deal with Costco on April 7, 2025, and had all the drawings and permits in by April 18.