Britain is set to conduct road trials of self-driving trucks, involving a “platoon” of vehicles controlled by a driver in the front. The Department for Transport said Friday that up to three trucks will travel in convoy, connected by Wi-Fi and with braking and acceleration controlled by the lead vehicle. Officials say the formation saves […]
Apple CEO Makes $2 Million Pledge to Fight Hate
Apple is donating $2 million to two human rights groups as part of CEO Tim Cook’s pledge to help lead the fight against the hate that fueled the violence in Virginia during a white-nationalist rally last weekend. Cook made the commitment late Wednesday in an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Cook also told […]
State Plans to Use Volkswagen Settlement to Reduce Emissions
Maine officials say they plan to use $21 million from their settlement with Volkswagen over Clean Air Act violations to reduce harmful emissions. The Portland Press Herald reports the state plans to use the money on projects that can reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, such as the installation of electric car charging stations and replacement of […]
Utility To Use Batteries To Augment Community’s Power Supply
Arizona’s largest utility plans to install battery storage systems to augment a small but growing rural community’s power supply instead of rebuilding 20 miles of lines to increase their capacity. Arizona Public Service Co. says construction of two battery storage systems will begin in the fall in Punkin Center, which is 53 miles (85 kilometers) northeast of […]
Merkel Rival Schulz Calls for Electric Car Quotas in Europe
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s main rival in Germany’s upcoming election is calling for a Europe-wide quota for electric cars. Martin Schulz told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily newspaper in an interview published Friday that binding quotas would help support electric car technology. Schulz, whose center-left Social Democratic Party lags far behind Merkel’s conservative bloc in the polls, […]
‘Strong Possibility’ For Foxconn To Come To Michigan
Gov. Rick Snyder expressed optimism that Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group will open a facility in Michigan, but he said the specifics remain uncertain and it could be a few months before any potential deal takes shape. In a phone interview Monday night from Shanghai, where he was concluding a nine-day trade trip in […]
Funding Dries Up For Rhode Island Electric Car Incentives
The funding for incentives that helped Rhode Island residents buy electric cars has dried up. The state Office of Energy Resources says their main source of funding — settlement funds from petroleum violations — is no longer available to use. An agency spokeswoman tells WPRI-TV (https://bit.ly/2vidP1U ) that the office is actively seeking alternative funding. The agency is […]
Afghan Girls Robotics Team to Compete After Visa Obstacles
A robotics team of six girls from Afghanistan is attending an international competition in Washington, after clearing visa obstacles that prompted intervention from President Donald Trump. The team was the first to be introduced at an opening ceremony Sunday for the three-day high school competition. They will compete against entrants from more than 150 countries […]
Nokia Maker Partners With Zeiss On Smartphone Optics
HMD Global, the company that’s licensed to produce Nokia phones and tablets, says it is partnering with Germany-based Zeiss to produce high quality optics on its new Nokia smartphones. The Finnish company says the handsets will be equipped with Zeiss cameras, “building on the shared history and expertise between Zeiss and Nokia smartphones.” Before selling […]
Regulators Set A $20 Per Megawatt Hour For Solar Project
NorthWestern Energy would have to pay about $20 per megawatt hour for electricity from a proposed 80-megawatt solar power project northwest of Billings, less than a third of the amount MTSun LLC initially sought. MTSun proposed building the 480-acre solar farm with a guaranteed rate of nearly $64 per megawatt hour. In late November, the […]