A new way of harnessing… snakes! Snakes!

Solar energy, biomass and wind power are all fine renewable energy sources. They’re costly, true, but also emission-free.

But where’s the terror?

With its latest concept for wave energy, Checkmate SeaEnergy has created an alternative energy technology that puts the “ee!” back in “green.” Called The Anaconda, the device is a long, rubber tube that will slither through ocean waves to generate electricity. And, depending on the number of ophidiophobes in the water at the time, it might also generate a few shrieks.

The device, secured to the ocean floor at its “head,” transfers the energy of the waves hitting it by exploiting a so-called “bulge wave” that would move from the end facing the oncoming wave to a turbine at the other end. The energy produced would then be fed to the shore through a cable connected at the far end.

In addition to the novelty of watching your power come from an enormous, slithering snake analogue, the technology’s design also offers the added benefits of its unique shape and materials. Its creators contend that because the device is made of rubber, rather than metal, and because it has no jointed parts, it would require less maintenance than other wave energy technologies.

Full-scale Anacondas would be 200 metres long and seven metres in diameter, producing about 1MW (enough to power 2,000 houses).

Admittedly, these Anacondas are still in the early stages of development. Just the same, though, here’s hoping that these colossal rubber simulacra will produce more energy than Hollywood’s last abysmal stab at the same idea.