Anyone scuba diving off the coast of the UK in three years time
could be in for a shock. A new device that creates electricity
from wave power has been unveiled by Checkmate Sea Energy – and
it looks like a giant sea snake. The Anaconda Wave Energy
Converter is a long rubber tube filled with water. When it's
placed in the sea and anchored to a generator, the movement of
water pushes the tube back and forth, creating "bulge waves"
inside it. That builds up pressure that drives a turbine and
generates electricity. It is estimated that a 200-metre Anaconda
could provide enough energy to power 2,000 homes. The first
could be up and running by 2012. One advantage of the new system
is that it sits below the water level, so it does not spoil
coastal views. The UK has excellent conditions for generating
marine energy and the industry has been steadily growing over
the past 25 years. The Strangford Lough Tidal Generator in
Northern Ireland was installed in 2008 and has a capacity of 1.2
megawatts (enough to power 1,14