Out with the Old, In with the New -- Solar replacing Coal

The investment in solar by Elon Musk and others is paying off.

For the first time ... First Solar Inc. is making panels for less than China’s biggest producer, justifying more than $3 billion in loan guarantees from the U.S. government.

After investing $775 million in technology, First Solar is producing panels for as little as 40 cents a watt, or about 15 percent less than China’s Trina Solar Ltd. In 2019, First Solar’s module cost could be as low as 25 cents a watt, according to analysts’ models.

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Jobs from the last two centuries go away, and new ones emerge. In this case, solar workers who once were coal workers...

A solar energy company has announced a new project in Southern Illinois that will retrain former coal industry workers in renewable energy. Solar Alliance Energy Inc., based in San Diego, says it plans to build a 500 kW community solar generation and battery storage project in Southern Illinois over 2.5 years starting in 2017. The pilot project will include a workforce redevelopment program to provide skills training and jobs to 30 unemployed and underemployed coal industry workers.

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Basic Income gets a Large Scale Test, in Kenya

Basic income gets a large test,

...wealth distribution known as "basic income" or "universal basic income." Initially proposed in the 1960s, basic income's main goal is to reduce poverty by guaranteeing everyone a minimum salary just for being alive.

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Robots and the Last Mile

Pizza delivered hot to your door, via robot!

Starship's robotic couriers will pick up goods from a centrally located logistics hub or storefront and ferry them to homes within a 2-mile radius. Through a partnership with Mercedes Benz, the company is also experimenting with loading a bunch of robots into a modified Sprinter van that drops off bots along its route.

Read more here...

Robots and the Last Mile

Pizza delivered hot to your door, via robot!

Starship's robotic couriers will pick up goods from a centrally located logistics hub or storefront and ferry them to homes within a 2-mile radius. Through a partnership with Mercedes Benz, the company is also experimenting with loading a bunch of robots into a modified Sprinter van that drops off bots along its route.

Read more here...

Robots and the Last Mile

Pizza delivered hot to your door, via robot!

Starship's robotic couriers will pick up goods from a centrally located logistics hub or storefront and ferry them to homes within a 2-mile radius. Through a partnership with Mercedes Benz, the company is also experimenting with loading a bunch of robots into a modified Sprinter van that drops off bots along its route.

Read more here...