Rollaway, a Silicon Valley-based sustainable hospitality startup, is partnering with GM’s BrightDrop to build a luxury electric van that it calls “the hotel room of tomorrow.” The electric van will feature five-star services and amenities with an impressive 250 miles range.
Meet the hotel room of tomorrow’s electric van
The startup is introducing an alternative lodging experience combining hospitality, technology, mobility, and sustainability.
Rather than booking several different hotel rooms or Airbnbs, Rollaway’s upscale electric camper allows you to adventure to multiple destinations without even needing a rental car.
To make it happen, Rollaway is partnering with General Motors‘ commercial electric vehicle startup, BrightDrop.
BrightDrop has worked with several top-tier clients, such as Walmart and FedEx, to introduce zero-emission electric vans in an effort to reduce emissions from commercial fleets with functional, long-range EVs.
Rollaway is leveraging BrightDrop’s electric van platform to create a sustainable upscale hotel experience that allows you to adventure luxuriously from anywhere.
While exploring, you don’t have to give up the comfort and lavish hotel room experience with included five-star services and amenities like:
Spa class toiletries.
A set of YETI amenities.
Farm-to-table breakfast packages from local, sustainable farms.
An on-demand app including room service, housekeeping, and more.
A live, personal virtual concierge to help you with your travel itineraries.
Housekeeping on the go with fresh linens and full services coming soon.
Starlink satellite ultra high-speed WiFi to keep you connected off the grid.
Rollaway offers several different accommodation options, including the GlampVan, QuadVan, and LuxVan. The GlampVan sleeps up to two guests featuring a queen size bed, full bathroom, living/dining area, and kitchenette.
For the family, the QuadVan sleeps up to four guests with a queen size bunk bed and all the amenities of the GlampVan.
For an upscale luxury suite experience, the LuxVan has a plush queen-size bed, upscale furniture and decor, a spa-class bathroom, a spacious living/dining area, and a fully equipped kitchenette.
And the best part is with 250 miles range and fast charging capabilities, the electric van lets you take the comfort of a hotel room anywhere.
Rollaway says it will soon launch in the San Francisco Bay Area, and pre-bookings are now open, starting today, on their website.
Electrek’s Take
The new electric van launch is part of an emerging trend of sustainable electric vans and RVs hitting the market as adventurers look for zero-emission alternatives.
Grounded, a Detroit-based electric RV startup founded by former Tesla and SpaceX engineers, also introduced the Grounded G1 customizable electric van on Ford’s E-Transit this week.
The Rollaway offers a more upscale experience and has 250 miles range compared to the Grounded G1’s range of 108 miles, but Grounded offers a flexible subscription alternative. Both are great options depending on your plans.
The fact of the matter is that nobody wants to stay in a camper van in nature with constant emissions coming in through the windows. Electric vans give you the best of both worlds with zero emissions and a versatile, spacious interior.
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China just connected its largest single-capacity solar farm built on a former coal mining area, which is in the Gobi Desert, to the grid.
The Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station, located in Otog Front Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, came online on November 5. With a massive installed capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) and over 5.9 million solar panels, the plant will generate around 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power 2 million households.
This huge project will save about 1.71 million tons of standard coal each year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 4.7 million tons, which is equivalent to planting 62,700 hectares (around 155,000 acres) of trees.
Built on coal mining subsidence land, Mengxi Blue Ocean is part of China’s national West-East Electricity Transfer Project, which brings investment and development to western China west while supplying the growing need for electricity in the eastern provinces.
The solar farm includes the country’s first large-scale outdoor solar testing base in the Gobi Desert climate, demonstrating the potential for large solar installations in challenging environments.
The power station makes use of new rare earth alloy grounding materials, cutting costs by 40%. It also replaces traditional concrete foundations with steel to minimize impact on the local grassland ecosystem.
Chuang Xihong, deputy director of the Engineering Construction Department of Guodian Power Group, CHN Energy’s parent company, explained that Mengxi Blue Ocean is an agrivoltaic project as well [via PV Tech]:
Fine forage and sand-fixing plants are planted under the PV modules, providing grazing for Australian White Sheep and chickens. A composite ecological development model will be established where PV power generation and breeding will go hand in hand.
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Operations at Three Mile Island are poised to restart in four years, the latest sign that the nuclear power industry is undergoing a major turnaround after a wave of plant closures.
The Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island, which entered service in 1974, was permanently shut down in 2019 due to economic pressure as nuclear power struggled to compete against natural gas. But the tech sector’s growing power needs are breathing new life into the industry.
Constellation Energy plants to restart Unit 1 in 2028 through an agreement with Microsoft to help power the tech company’s data centers. The plant will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center — after Chris Crane, the late CEO of the plant’s former owner, Exelon — and its restart is subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Department of Energy said Unit 1 operated safely and efficiently before being shut down five years ago. However, it lies within walking distance of the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. The Unit 2 reactor suffered a partial meltdown in 1979 and has not operated since the accident. It is being decommissioned by its owner, Energy Solutions.
Constellation’s chief generation officer, Bryan Hanson said Unit 1 is in good condition and the restoration will mostly involve typical maintenance work.
Here is a look at the plant’s main control room, the turbine deck that houses the main power generator, and the facility’s iconic cooling towers. For more on the restart click here.
Main control room
The control panel in the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Constellation’s chief generation officer, Bryan Hanson, inside the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Telephones in the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Turbine deck
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Electrical panels on the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
A desk on the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Cooling towers
A detail of two cooling towers at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Power lines and a cooling tower at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Detail of a cooling tower at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Cooling towers at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
— CNBC’s Danielle DeVries contributed to this report.