Monday, July 07, 2008

Introducing ...

... the Anaconda.

A wave hitting the end squeezes it and causes a 'bulge wave'* to form inside the tube. As the bulge wave runs through the tube, the initial sea wave that caused it runs along the outside of the tube at the same speed, squeezing the tube more and more and causing the bulge wave to get bigger and bigger. The bulge wave then turns a turbine fitted at the far end of the device and the power produced is fed to shore via a cable.
Exciting, but don't expect it to come online anytime soon as ...
The Anaconda is, however, still at an early stage of development. The concept has only been proven at very small laboratory-scale, so important questions about its potential performance still need to be answered.
If their website is any indication (I do believe it's their website), they're really in the early stages of development.

They claim they may be able to start field trials by next year. Here's to hoping for their success.

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