FARMERS in the region could play a vital part in the development of wind-powered ship technology with the potential to create hundreds of jobs.

The eco-friendly technology, being developed by Greenwave, based at Melsonby, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, would see a 20-metre tall “sail” comprising two spinning cylinders, similar in appearance to giant chimneys, being erected on a ship’s deck.

A team of scientists which has worked on America’s Cup boats is due to arrive in the region next month to start tests on a prototype sail.

But so far, the company has nowhere to carry out tests, and is calling on farmers or landowners in the region to help.

Greenwave project director Nick Dearden said: “When it is built, the sail is 20 metres tall. We have academics coming over from New Zealand to start testing the sail on June 6, but at the moment we have nowhere to do the tests.

“It has to be solid ground, because it weighs 20 tonnes and it needs to be fairly exposed to the weather.”

If the tests go to plan, a 55,000-tonne bulk tanker could be fitted with the sails later in the year and tests would begin in the North Sea.

The technology, being built at premises near Scotch Corner, North Yorkshire, is aimed at providing a green method of powering cargo ships.

It works in a similar way to a traditional sail, using wind to create thrust, but is ten times more powerful.

It is actually based on technology developed in the Twenties and known as the Magnus effect. Like a hybrid car, a traditional engine is needed to start the ship moving, before the sail kicks into action.

Greenwave is a charity set up to provide environmental solutions to pollution caused by cargo shipping, which is responsible for more than a billion tonnes of CO2 per year.

However, it is a vital method of transport, delivering about 90 per cent of the world’s goods.

Mr Dearden said he could see all ships using the technology in the future.

He said: “It goes towards developing bigger and better ways to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce fuel use.

“Gordon Brown and Barack Obama have talked about the sustainable jobs front and here is one of the first examples happening in North Yorkshire.”

Once the technology is rolled out commercially it can be delivered as a “flat pack”

in a container to anywhere in the world. The ideal site for testing would include a flat stretch of land with a concrete base.

Anyone who can help is asked to call Mr Dearden on 01748-821997.