Slashdot Mirror


Giant Snake-Shaped Generators Could Capture Wave Power

Roland Piquepaille writes "UK researchers have developed a prototype of a future giant rubber tube which could catch energy from sea waves. The device, dubbed Anaconda, uses 'long sea waves to excite bulge waves which travel along the wall of a submersed rubber tube. These are then converted into flows of water passing through a turbine to generate electricity.' So far, the experiments have been done with tubes with diameters of 0.25 and 0.5 meters. But if the experiments are successful, future full-scale Anaconda devices would be 200 meters long and 7 meters in diameter, and deployed in water depths of between 40 and 100 meters. An Anaconda would deliver an output power of 1MW (enough to power 2,000 houses). These devices would be deployed in groups of 20 or even more providing cheap electricity without harming our environment."

1 of 432 comments (clear)

  1. Re:1 MW = 2000 houses? by mdfst13 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    That's 500 watts each. My computer alone takes up more than that

    How do you know that? My computer has a 350 watt power supply, but even with monitor, speakers, router, etc., it only takes 136 watts on my UPS (which measures such things). What's your computer have that makes it so much higher than mine?