Anaconda starting to make big waves
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANACONDA WAVE ENERGY CONVERTER IS APPROACHING AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE OVER THE COMING WEEKS IN 2009 Checkmate Seaenergy Ltd, supported by Carbon Trust, commissioned consulting engineers Black & Veatch to conduct an independent review of the Anaconda technology. Black & Veatch had conducted an initial assessment of the Anaconda device for Carbon Trust at the time of the Marine Energy Challenge in 2007. Following this assessment Carbon Trust considered the Anaconda technology, when fully developed, to be a potential game changer in the wave energy sector. It was therefore logical for Black & Veatch to update their assessment in the light of the extensive scale model testing programme Checkmate Seaenergy has undertaken over the past 12 months.
The report will be delivered very shortly. A vital part of the report will cover the economic viability of Anaconda wave energy converters. Checkmate Seaenergy Ltd plans to use this Black & Veatch report, together with its recently completed development and business plans in approaches to potential investors. Checkmate will be making a concerted effort to raise private investment for the project over the coming months. Checkmate Seaenergy Ltd has spent the last year testing 1:25 scale models (pictured far left) of the Anaconda wave energy converter in various wave tanks around the UK including Southampton Solent University, QinetiQ Marine Technology Park at Gosport and the Hydrodynamics Laboratory of Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities. The early tests concentrated on proof of concept while the later tests delivered detailed measurements of power delivery in a simulated West Hebrides wave climate