Spanish engineers are testing a giant ‘plate snake’ in the Atlantic that sways with the waves, producing both electricity and fresh water at the same time

Island nations could soon benefit from clean electricity and fresh water by tapping into waves with a “plate snake.”

Globally, communities are facing a growing crisis as energy demand rises and fresh water becomes scarcer.

Conventional renewable sources cannot overcome both obstacles at once, despite rapid expansion.

Battery storage is prohibitively expensive, which is why island populations are forced to rely on burning costly, imported diesel.

Now, experts are turning to ocean waves and their untapped potential.

Will reimagining the deep-sea technology help create a sustainable dual solution for coastal populations?

How traditional green sources will not solve a dual crisis

The global renewable transition often feels like taking one step forward, then two steps back.

Worldwide, total clean energy capacity has recently reached record highs, driven by solar and wind.

Despite these major milestones, it is not enough to meet the world’s ever-increasing electricity consumption.

As the power gap grows, several utilities still rely on carbon-heavy facilities, which aggravates global warming.

Climate change has been affecting water resources, with a significant scarcity crisis worsening.

Island nations, in particular, are facing these devastating bottlenecks.

Seawater desalination is key for island communities to address shrinking water supplies.

Unfortunately, this conversion process is highly energy-intensive.

These nations lack the space needed for solar and wind farms.

Additionally, these sources are highly intermittent, rendering them unsuitable for desalination.

Battery storage is prohibitively expensive, which is why island populations are forced to rely on burning costly, imported diesel.

Fortunately, there is an alternative.

Turning to the widely untapped potential of waves

Developers are turning to the ocean to escape this costly cycle.

Wave energy is becoming more popular as it carries high volumes of predictable kinetic power.

The high consistency of ocean swells also allows energy generation to be forecasted long in advance.

However, significant engineering obstacles have historically prevented the world from adequately tapping into this power.

Conventional offshore designs consist of giant, heavy steel structures.

Complex, high-tech components are often integrated to help the systems survive the open ocean.

These components, along with fragile submerged machinery, often cannot endure the highly corrosive saltwater or ocean storms.

Furthermore, deep-sea installation, maintenance, and repairs require expensive specialized vessels and divers.

Traditional designs are also anchored to the sea floor, disrupting marine mammals and benthic habitats.

Fortunately, Danish engineers reimagined how wave energy is harnessed by using a “plate snake.”

Recently, a real-world milestone was achieved at the PLOCAN test site in Spain.

A giant “plate snake” that creates electricity and fresh water

Danish company Wavepiston launched a project to prove that wave energy can compete with other renewables cost-wise.

The technology is specifically designed for isolated island populations and coastal resorts.

The Wavepiston system utilizes a lightweight, modular structure.

It resembles a snake, and the underwater plates sway dynamically with the ocean’s movement.

The multi-step process to produce power and water simultaneously

A flexible, durable cable is stretched underwater between two buoys.

Attached along the cable are multiple lightweight vertical plates.

Waves passing through the system sway the plates back and forth.

This motion drives dual-acting pumps on each plate.

Pressurized seawater is forced into a pipeline along the cable and pumped to an onshore utility station.

On land, a hydraulic turbine is spun to produce electricity.

Simultaneously, the pressurized flow moves into a reverse osmosis system to produce fresh drinking water.

Wavepiston’s system provides major localized benefits.

It is locally assembled and can be deployed using standard tugboats. This not only simplifies installation and maintenance but also significantly lowers associated costs.

It therefore makes wave energy a viable, highly competitive alternative to importing diesel fuels.

Furthermore, the dual-purpose of power and freshwater generation will help address a growing crisis faced by coastal communities. Ultimately, isolated islands have the chance to secure a self-sufficient, sustainable future on local shores.