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Another sea monster emerges from Scottish waters. But this one is going on the grid. The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter (named "Pelamis" for the Latin name for sea snake) is kind of like three train cars, linked together, floating semi-submerged on the ocean and cranking out clean, green power. Since the waves it needs are of the type that will unmoor your lunch from your stomach, the Pelamis is tethered to the ocean floor by anchors and a power cable. The Pelamis is 150 m long (about 490 ft), with three power conversion modules -- one at each joint where the "train cars" are linked together. The Pelamis turns to face into the waves, and as the snake rises and falls, the sections move against each other. Hydraulic rams at the hinges drive generators which produce energy. Ta da! Creator Pelamis Wave Power (formerly Ocean Power Delivery Ltd) is currently working with the government of Portugal to get three of the snakes out into the ocean near Agucadoura. Each Pelamis is expected to generate 750 kw to feed back into the national grid. Future projects include “wavefarms” of up to 40 Pelamis machines deployed over an area of about a square kilometer. Such a farm could potentially produce enough energy for 20,000 homes. More on Pelamis here.