We're stoked about that wave farm off the coast of Portugal, and now along comes another innovation that could top that: Searaser, a buoy-like device attached to the sea floor that uses wave power to pump water 650 feet uphill. When the energy is needed, that same water flows through a downhill pipe, powering a hydroelectric generator. This picture shows a small prototype, but its inventors say Searaser in its full-sized form could supply power to 470 houses.

We like the idea of using existing hydroelectric power, put in motion by gravity. The wave-powered pump works like a simple battery, storing the potential energy of the pumped water atop a steep hill, ready for use when needed. Its makers say if you place 43,000 of these buoys off the coast, you could power a country of 20 million households. Impressive. This wave power idea has a future.

Timesonline, via Treehugger