Working Lunch - Wave power

[Shirley]

On now.... and all this week BBC 2

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT SIMON GOMPERTZ WRITES…

I have been to some strange places for Working Lunch, but my latest assignment takes the biscuit. In the last few weeks, I have perched on a buoy miles out in the Atlantic, stood on top of an underwater windmill in the Bristol Channel and climbed inside a 140 metre metal sea snake being built on the Isle of Lewis. All these amazing structures have been built to generate electricity from waves and tidal movements. It has felt like looking into the future. The timing is perfect. Commercial-scale machines are beginning to harvest power from the seas, just as we start to feel desperate about getting enough renewable energy to replace our gas-belching power stations.

Please watch our reports on wave and tide power this week. Wave and tide farms are about to surface across the globe. Technology is going into production which may one day change the way we power our homes. The inventions will change the way we view the sea as well. It's a big socket we can plug into.

With a wave!
Simon.

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We’re back to our usual times this week - 12.30 everyday except Wednesday, when we’re on at 1.30.

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ON THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMME…

On Monday Simon goes to see the building of a ‘sea snake’ wave power machine on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. When complete it’s headed for Portugal. Meanwhile, Rob is in Derbyshire to talk to a woman taking part in Tuesday’s big local government strike.

On Tuesday Simon is in New Jersey in America, to tell us about how PowerBuoy generates electricity from the force of the sea. And Rob spends some time with three generations of a family to find out how life has changed on the Isle of Man.

On Wednesday Virginia is at AstraZeneca in Macclesfield to find out how they won their category in the BBC’s healthy workplaces competition. Simon reports on a revolutionary ‘underwater windmill’ off the Devon coast.

Thursday sees Rob at the dentist to find out how the new NHS dentistry contract will affect dentists and patients. Plus Simon takes a look at the cost of wave and tidal power in comparison with other methods of electricity generation.

To round off our week of features, a panel of renewable power entrepreneurs will be answering your questions on Friday’s programme. And John Whiting will be tackling all your tax troubles on the show and live on the Working Lunch website at 1.30pm.