EPSRC funded technology takes a step closer to commercial production
A wave power machine resembling a giant swimming sea-snake could be generating energy off the coast of the UK within five years, say developers.
Up to 200 metres long and made almost entirely of a rubber tube, each "anaconda” could be capable of producing 1MW (megawatt) of power. 50 anacondas could generate enough electricity to power 50,000 homes cheaply.
The plan is to have "shoals" or "schools" of the devices around the coast, where they would be harnessed to "swim" just below the surface.
The EPSRC is funding research at Southampton University into the physics behind the device, which is being commercially developed by a company called Checkmate Group.
Waves in the sea create a "bulge wave" which passes down the tube like a pulse of blood in an artery, gathering energy which drives a turbine in its tail. The electricity generated by the turbine can then be captured and carried to shore by cables.
Checkmate is looking for £7m in funding to carry out full-scale ocean tests and hope the first anacondas to be deployed off the coast by 2014.