Industries look beyond wind, solar energy

MINNETONKA, Minn., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- A massive kite used in the shipping industry could reduce fuel consumption by as much as 35 percent, U.S. agricultural company Cargill announced.

Cargill said it was teaming with German company SkySails to develop a 3,400-square-foot kite to help drive some of its vessels.

G.J. van den Akker, Cargill's head of ocean transport, said in a statement that the kite could cut fuel consumption significantly under ideal sailing conditions.

"The shipping industry currently supports 90 percent of the world's international physical trade," he said. "In a world of finite resources, environmental stewardship makes good business sense."

SkySails said if its kite saw broad application, it could remove about 100 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or about 11 percent of the yearly German emissions.

British wave energy company Ocean Power Technologies unveiled a new generation of power buoys designed to produce the energy needed to meet the demands of 150 households.

The company said it was working in the United Kingdom and efforts to employ wave energy technology off the coast of Oregon in the United States are "well under way."