In August, following successful tests, Marine Currents Turbines will begin building the world's largest Tidal Turbine System in Strangford Lough, off the coast of Northern Ireland. It will generate 1.2MW of power, enough electricity for 1,000 homes, and do it without releasing chemicals or raising temperatures. That is easily the most power generated by a tidal device thus far.

The Strangford Lough Turbine will serve as a prototype for the large scale use of tidal energy.

Marine Current Turbines plans to develop a commercial tidal farm in UK waters that will produce 10MW within the next three years.

If successful, they plan to generate 500MW by 2015.

The company will drill a single pile into the seabed, which along with installation, should take 14 days, starting in the week of 20 August. It will begin serving local grids shortly afterwards.

TESCO, BA FACE CARBON CAP

The UK government issued detailed proposals for an auctionbased carbon dioxide emissions allowance program for retailers, universities and transport companies that aren't covered by the European Union emissions trading regime.

The plan will apply to companies such as Tesco, the world's third-largest retailer, and British Airways, Europe's thirdlargest airline, and could help cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 1.2 million metric tons a year by 2020, according to Britain's department for environment, trade & rural affairs.

"We are committed to ambitious targets to reduce the UK's carbon dioxide emissions and this will require contributions from all sectors of the economy and from across all parts of the UK, " environment minister Ian Pearson said last week. "Our aim is to reduce absolute carbon emissions while growing the economy.'" The so-called Carbon Reduction Commitment will boost the economy by �755m ( 1.1bn) by slashing energy bills, DEFRA said. The program will cover about 5,000 businesses and groups using more than 6,000 megawatt-hours of power a year, including retailers, hotel chains, universities and government departments.

The new commitment won't cover the 1,055 factories, power plants and mines across the UK that are already subject to mandatory caps under the EU program. The EU's trading regime was set up to help the bloc meet its commitment to cut greenhouse gases by 8% from 1990 levels under the Kyoto Protocol.

BIOFUELS BOOST FOR MONSANTO

Monsanto the world's biggest seed producer, said third-quarter profit jumped 71% as US farmers planted the most corn since the second world war.

Net income in the quarter ended 31 May 31 rose to $570m ( 422m), or $1.03 a share, from $334m, or 60 cents, a year earlier, St Louis-based Monsanto said this week in a statement. Sales gained 23% to $2.84bn from $2.31bn.

Monsanto's share of US cornseed sales jumped as much as 5 percentage points, marking the largest gain and the sixth consecutive year the company has grabbed revenue from rivals such as DuPont. Rising ethanol production drove corn prices to a ten-year high on 26 February and strengthened demand for genetically-modi"ed seeds that boost yields.

"The share gains we knew were going to be big, but they are bigger than expected, '" said Mark Gulley, an analyst at Soleil Securities who recommends buying Monsanto shares and doesn't own them.

Shares of Monsanto rose 68 cents, or 1%, to $66.68 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have surged 74% in the past year, valuing the company at $36.3bn.