Energy storage infrastructure seems to be the the up and coming solution to the intermittent nature of wind and solar. Battery banks, pumped hydro, etc. So even more added cost and complexity.
Front arm in the skid is flatter angle, and not just narrower boards but the overall machine width at the footwells is supposedly 3" less than the G4. There's a good youtube vid if you search G4 vs G5.
FWIW, opening up the muffler, trimming the limiter tabs off and richer carb settings made a nice improvement to my MS290 (ease of starting, idle quality and a bit more power). It is a little louder but I kept the baffle mostly intact, just opened up some internal passages and the outlet size.
Someone else (work and other) is paying for 72% of the $1809 as well right? You're actually out of pocket just $506. No denying the economics of operating an eV versus gas.