If there’s two cool pieces of green technology that have greatly improved my day-to-day life, they’re probably electric bikes and solar-powered portable power stations. I’ve reviewed plenty of both, and they’re even better when you combine them. Take the case of the Mokwheel Scoria, which straps an inverter onto an e-bike to create a mobile power station.
The Mokwheel Scoria looks like a typical step-through fat tire e-bike. And in many ways, that’s just what it is.
But what really sets this thing apart is the optional inverter and solar panel combination that turns it into a rolling battery that can be recharged from the sun.
To see what I mean, check out my video review below. But don’t stop there! Keep scrolling for the rest of my review.
Mokwheel Scoria video review
Mokwheel Scoria tech specs
Motor: 750W rear hub motor
Top speed: 35 km/h (22 mph)
Range: Claimed up to 96 km (60 mi)
Battery: 48 V 19.6 Ah (940 Wh)
Weight: 36 kg (79 lb)
Max load: 181 kg (400 lb)
Frame: 6061 aluminum
Suspension: Front suspension fork
Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes
Tires: 20″ x 4″ fat tires
Extras: Color display with speedometer, wattmeter, battery gauge, PAS level indicator, 7-speed Shimano shifter, odometer, tripmeter, front and rear LED lights, half-twist throttle, includes rear rack (with wooden surface) and front/rear fenders, kick stand, front of bike has mount for optional rack
The base model of the Scoria, which is priced at $1,999, doesn’t come with the extra goodies. You can fork over $2,398 to get the version with the add-on inverter, or $2,997 to get that bundle plus a folding 200W solar panel.
The inverter has a cable that allows it to plug directly into the e-bike, sharing power between the two.
On the power station, you’ll find a pair of 120VAC outlets as well as several USB-A and USB-C outlets. There’s even a full power 100W USB-C outlet.
This would be the perfect setup for bikepacking or camping, since you could run appliances off the AC outlet and keep your USB devices charged up as well. When you come to a rest, you can recharge the bike via the folding solar panel, or use it on multi-day camping trips as you begin to drain the bike’s battery over time. With a 960Wh battery on the bike, you’ve got a lot of capacity to draw from.
But what about the e-bike?
The inverter is obviously the major draw here that separates the Mokwheel Scoria from other e-bikes. But even by itself, this e-bike is pretty nice in its own right.
It’s a moped-style electric bike, meaning it’s got smaller diameter fat tires that give it a lower ride and more motorbike-like handling. The front suspension and the fat tires make for a nicer ride over pot holes or nature trails, and the rear rack gives some classy wood-lined storage.
Hydraulic disc brakes help bring this heavy 79 lb (36 kg) e-bike to a quick stop, and are important features on a bike that is supposedly capable of supporting a payload of up to 400 lb (181 kg).
And since the bike edges over Class 2 speeds to max out at around 22 mph (35 km/h), strong stoppers are a nice addition.
The 48V and 19.6Ah battery offers 940 Wh of capacity, which is especially important if you plan on draining the battery through the inverter in addition to through the wheels. The company claims a max range of 60 miles (96 km) from the large battery, though that seems fairly optimistic to me unless you’re in the lowest power pedal assist level.
Achieving 22 mph (35 km/h) on throttle-only made the bike feel fun to ride on the road and on the trails, but it definitely won’t last for 60 miles at those speeds on throttle-only riding.
That 750W motor is battery-hungry as well, so keep that in mind if you plan to use the inverter for a while and then go for a ride. You’ll want to make sure you leave yourself with plenty of battery.
At a price of $1,999, the bike seems a bit overpriced compared to other similarly-designed e-bikes in this class. Perhaps the company is banking on the fact that you can’t really use many other e-bikes – or perhaps any other e-bikes – in this type of rolling powerstation capacity.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great bike that rides well, has plenty of power and is comfortable to boot. And the inverter add-on is a really cool feature. There are some nice features like mag wheels instead of spoked wheels, but does that justify the price? I’m not sure the cost is in line with the value.
But then again, if this type of functionality is something you really want or need, then I guess the value is for you to decide.
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British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.
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British oil giant BP on Tuesday posted slightly weaker-than-expected first-quarter net profit, following a recent strategic reset and a slump in crude prices.
The beleaguered oil and gas major posted underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $1.38 billion for the first three months of the year. That missed analyst expectations of $1.6 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
BP’s net profit had hit $2.7 billion a year earlier and $1.2 billion in the final three months of 2024.
The results come as the energy major faces fresh pressure from activist investors less than two months after announcing a strategic reset.
Seeking to rebuild investor confidence, BP in February pledged to slash renewable spending and boost annual expenditure on its core business of oil and gas.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday that the firm was “off to a great start” in delivering on its strategic reset.
“We had a great operational quarter. We had our highest upstream operating efficiency in history. Our refineries in the first quarter ran at the best they’ve run in 24 years. We had six exploration discoveries in a row, which is really unusual and we started out three major projects,” Auchincloss said.
For the first quarter, BP announced a dividend per ordinary share of 8 cents and a share buyback of $750 million.
Net debt rose to $26.97 billion in the January-March period, up from $22.99 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. BP had previously warned of lower reported upstream production and higher net debt in the first quarter, when compared to the final three months of last year.
Shares of BP fell 3.3% on Tuesday morning. The firm is down roughly 8% year-to-date.
Activist pressure
BP’s green strategy U-turn does not appear to have gone far enough for the likes of activist investor Elliott Management, which went public last week with a stake of more than 5% in the London-listed firm.
The disclosure makes the U.S. hedge fund BP’s second-largest shareholder after BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, according to LSEG data.
Elliott was first reported to have assumed a position in the oil and gas company back in February, driving a share price rally amid expectations that its involvement could pressure BP to shift gears back toward its oil and gas businesses.
BP’s Auchincloss declined to comment on interactions with investors when asked whether the firm was under pressure from the likes of Elliott to go beyond the plans announced in its February pivot.
Notably, BP suffered a shareholder rebellion at its annual general meeting earlier this month. Almost a quarter (24.3%) of investors voted against the re-election of outgoing Chair Helge Lund, a symbolic result that reflected a sense of deep frustration among the firm’s shareholders.
Mark van Baal, founder of Dutch activist investor Follow This, told CNBC last week that he hoped the shareholder revolt means Amanda Blanc, who is leading the process to find Lund’s successor, will look for a new chair who is “climate competent” and “will not respond to short-term activists so quickly.”
Lund is expected to step down from his role next year.
Takeover candidate
BP’s underperformance relative to industry peers such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell has thrust the energy major into the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate. Energy analysts have questioned, however, whether any of the likeliest suitors will rise to the occasion.
BP’s Auchincloss on Tuesday said that he wouldn’t speculate on whether the company is a takeover target, but confirmed the oil major had not asked for any sort of protection from the British government.
“What I will say is we’re a strong, independent company and we’ve got sector-leading growth. And if we can deliver the sector-leading growth, and the first quarter is a fantastic example of that, then I have no concerns. I think we’re going to do great,” Auchincloss said.
Murray Auchincloss, chief executive officer of BP, during the “CERAWeek by S&P Global” conference in Houston, Texas, on March 11, 2025.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices have fallen in recent months on demand fears. International benchmark Brent crude futures with June delivery traded at $65.19 per barrel on Tuesday morning, down more than 1% for the session. That’s lower from around $84 per barrel a year ago.
Asked whether weaker crude prices could put the some of the firm’s reset plans in jeopardy, Auchincloss said, “Not really. We have a balance of products that we think about that generate revenue for us. So, oil, natural gas and refined products as well.”
— CNBC’s Ruxandra Iordache contributed to this report.
Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
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The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
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Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
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Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
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