Lifeboat Foundation

The United Arab Emirates has launched the Al Dhafra solar farm – now the world’s largest single-site solar farm – ahead of COP28.

The 2-gigawatt (GW) solar farm is 22 miles (35 km) from Abu Dhabi and features almost 4 million bifacial solar panels. It will power nearly 200,000 homes and eliminate over 2.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

It created 4,500 jobs during the peak of the construction phase, and the solar panels were installed at an average rate of 10 megawatts (MW) a day during construction.

More than a dozen volcanos are erupting at the same time worldwide, and three new eruptions joined the list this week.

The Smithsonian Institute’s Global Volcanism Program tracks new eruptions and updates its list of currently erupting volcanos on Wednesdays. The most recent update shows three new eruptions, bringing the list’s total to 19 eruptions at once. The list doesn’t include all erupting volcanos.

The new volcanic eruptions have some people voicing their concerns on social media.

Terabase Energy has successfully completed its first commercial solar installation using Terafab, its automatic solar-installing robot.

The Terafab robot – aka the “construction automation platform” – installed 17 megawatts (MW) of the 225 MW White Wing Ranch project in Yuma County, Arizona, on which solar tech company Terabase Energy is working alongside developer Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE) and contractor RES.

The Terafab robot completely eliminates the manual lifting of heavy steel tubes and solar panels – an industry first. Terabase Energy says that its robot achieved labor productivity improvements of 25% compared with manual installation, and the setup improves working conditions for solar technicians, as they’re housed in shaded and cooled conditions. The robot’s precision also enables the 100% return of solar panel packaging for reuse by the manufacturer.

Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescopes, astronomers can confirm that there’s a rocky exoplanet just a couple dozen light years away.

We’re still reeling from the just-breaking news that OpenAI’s enigmatic CEO and figurehead Sam Altman has been sacked by the company’s board of directors. And make no mistake that we’re still intensely curious what went down behind the scenes that led the company to part with Altman during the exact moment when its ascendant tech is driving the nascent AI industry. But as the dust settles, there’s another looming question: what’s the deal with Mira Murati, the company’s interim CEO who’s stepping in to lead immediately?

One thing’s for sure: she’s no lightweight. Here’s what Fast Company had to say earlier this year:

Four board members are left after Altman’s shocking ouster.

New research into how humans and animals use complexity to make decisions offers some tantalizing insights into the nature of intelligence.

A recent video that went viral on social media showed off the entirety of the truck’s interior for the first time, suggesting the cabin of the Cybertruck will be more cramped than one might expect from a full-sized pickup.

Oddly, it’s now starting to sound like the same could go for the truck’s bed. One image circulating online shows that not even a single mountain bike can fully fit inside the bed.

And a separate image uploaded to the Cybertruck subreddit shows most of a Christmas tree awkwardly protruding from the back of the truck, suggesting it’s not exactly going to compete with other pickup trucks when it comes to utility alone.

Two symmetrical steel arches define this bridge by Zaha Hadid Architects, which stretches 295 metres across a tributary of the Tuojiang River in Chengdu, China.

Named Jiangxi River Bridge, the structure is used by cars, cyclists and pedestrians and is intended to become a landmark for the city in Sichuan province.

Zaha Hadid Architects designed the bridge to tie in with the city’s existing road system and Airport New Town, a new development surrounding Chengdu Tianfu International Airport.