'Anaconda' to boost wave power

06/05/2009

New snake-like device could harness electricity for 50,000 homes

A new snake-like device known as "Anaconda" could harness waves off the North of Scotland to power homes.

Inventors at Checkmate Seaenergy Ltd claim the prototype - little more than a length of rubber tubing filled with water - could be devloped into a major wave power project.

It works by allowing waves to create bulges along the tubing that travel along its length gathering energy, driving an electricty turbine.

The company has been testing a 8m-long "anaconda" in a wave tank, and is now looking to raise £7million to create a larger version to test at sea.

Co-inventor Professor Rod Rainey, of engineering design consultants Atkins, said: "The beauty of wave energy is its consistency. However, the problem holding back wave energy machines is that devices tend to deteriorate over time in the harsh marine environment.

"Anaconda is non-mechanical. It is mainly rubber, a natural material with a natural resilience, and so has very few moving parts to maintain."

It is claimed that a group of 50 full-size Anacondas - each 200m long - could provide electricity for 50,000 homes.