Monday 17/12/2007 Page: 4
THE world's first commercial merchant ship pulled by a giant kite that helps its engines to cut greenhouse gas emissions has been launched in Hamburg. The SkySails kite is designed to catch strong winds up to 300 metres above the surface of the sea. It is worth 500,000 ($840,000) and projected to cut fuel costs by about 20 per cent, or $US1600 ($1800) a day. Its designers say that it will reduce output of CO2 by a similar proportion.Niels Stolberg, the chief executive of Beluga Shipping, which helped develop the system, said the shipping industry emitted 800 million tonnes of CO2, and this would rise above 1 billion tonnes in five years. "Playing a role in reducing emissions is important for us," he said. "It's important to look at the commercial side of this but also the CO2 aspect. In a few years shipping companies will have to cut emissions or pay a price." MV Beluga SkySails will make its maiden voyage across the Atlantic to Venezuela in January.
Its kite can use offshore winds with the help of its high-tech control pod but would be useless in head-on winds. The system would not benefit ships traveling faster than 16 knots. Mr Stolberg, who plans to install the kite system on two vessels twice as large as MV Beluga SkySails by 2009, said the fuel savings would cover the costs of the investment in three to five years.
More than 450 people crowded into the harbour and onto the ship on Saturday to witness the launch and watch the giant white sail tethered to a 15-metre mast near its bow unfold just above the deck in a gentle breeze. Stephan Wrage, the managing director of SkySails, got the idea to harness the wind years ago as a kite and sailing enthusiast. "Our goal is to have 1500 equipped by 2015," he said. "That would save a tremendous amount of CO2."
0 comments:
Post a Comment