Green Daily

The Anaconda, a 600 foot long device designed to harness the power of the waves, could be our collective ticket to energy freedom.

The wave power generator, designed by researchers at the University of Southampton and Checkmate Seaenergy, is essentially a 20-foot-wide rubber tube full of water. When anchored at sea, waves cause the Anaconda to undulate, pushing a "bulgewave" to the bottom of the tube where it generates electricity thorough a small turbine. The power is then transmitted back to land via a cable.

The Anaconda technology has a number of advantages over other renewables besides the ability to hilariously scare the crap out of unsuspecting scuba divers. For one thing, since the tube is made of rubber it has few moving parts and requires less maintenance than, say, a wind turbine.

It's estimated that each Anaconda could produce enough electricity to power several hundred homes, and if tests continue to be successful, "farms" with hundreds of the devices could be ready to go as early as 5 years from now.

Check out this animated video showing how the Anaconda works.