China completes flight test for world's largest power-generating kite

The world's largest 5,000-sqm power-generating kite completed its first flight test on Wednesday in Alxa Left Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, marking a milestone in the country's development of high-altitude wind power, according to the kite's developer, China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited.

The kite achieved full in-air deployment and retraction during the testing.

The trial tested a land-based high-altitude wind power generation system that uses kites to capture wind energy, then pulls the generators on the ground to produce electricity.

High-altitude power generation technology enables capturing wind energy from altitudes above 300 meters and turning it into electricity using kites as its core equipment.

"We have completed the first deployment test of the world's largest [power-generation] kite and successfully finished data collection, providing a scientific basis for the design of the kite assembly, which will lay the foundation for deploying a complete set of equipment and for setting standards," said Cao Lun, chief director of the kite-opening test.

At high altitudes, the wind blows faster, stronger, and more consistently. High-altitude wind, as an uncharted territory in new energy, bears great potential for further development.

"We will conduct multi-kite flight tests and plan to launch power generation trials at the end of next year," said Huo Shaolei, senior technical expert at China Power Engineering Consulting Group Limited.

China completes flight test for world's largest power-generating kite

China completes flight test for world's largest power-generating kite

China completes flight test for world's largest power-generating kite

China completes flight test for world's largest power-generating kite

China completes flight test for world's largest power-generating kite

Major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed on Thursday, with weakness in mega-cap technology names offsetting gains in semiconductor stocks fueled by strong corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71.72 points, or 0.14 percent, to 51,920.62. The Standard and Poor's 500 dipped 0.73 points, or 0.01 percent, to 7,357.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 118.03 points, or 0.46 percent, to 25,358.60.

Six of the 11 primary Standard and Poor's 500 sectors ended in the green, with industrials and health leading the gainers by rising 2.19 percent and 1.49 percent, respectively. Consumer discretionary and consumer staples led the laggards by going down 1.78 percent and 1.08 percent, respectively.

Micron Technology delivered record-setting quarterly results, beating expectations and providing upbeat guidance, which helped ease concerns over lofty AI valuations and spending. The company's shares surged more than 15 percent.

Qualcomm rose about 3.7 percent after announcing an expansion beyond smartphones into data center products, including chips and servers, with a target of 15 billion U.S. dollars in new revenues from the AI boom.

Meanwhile, Apple dropped 6.15 percent after the company announced price increases on MacBook and iPad products, citing higher component costs. Microsoft also lost 3.46 percent following news of price hikes on Xbox consoles.

On the inflation front, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.4 percent month over month in May, slightly below expectations, and 4.1 percent year over year. The core PCE index, excluding food and energy, increased 0.3 percent month over month and 3.4 percent year over year, both in line with forecasts.

U.S. stocks close mixed as mega-cap tech weakness offsets chip rally