Electric wind: An energy history of modern Britain
A cutting-edge history of wind power in Britain.

There are turbines on the horizon. The blades whirl with metronomic rhythm. With each rotation, wind is transformed into electricity. An energy revolution is underway.

Electric wind rewinds to the beginning to explore the rise of wind energy in modern Britain. From the industrial revolution to the aftermath of war, through energy crises and the changing politics of the late twentieth century, we see how energy has shaped a nation – and how a nation is reflected and refracted through energy. Boldly charting Britain through its wildest, windiest places, this book takes us to the edges of land and beyond to think deeply about the role of nature in politics, science and technology. Visionaries and hippies join engineers and entrepreneurs. Traditions and local cultures meet infrastructure and industry in this captivating history.

At a time when action on carbon emissions is urgent, Electric wind offers examples, ideas and stories to fuel change going forwards. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in nature, climate change, landscape and the making of modern Britain.

1147455305
Electric wind: An energy history of modern Britain
A cutting-edge history of wind power in Britain.

There are turbines on the horizon. The blades whirl with metronomic rhythm. With each rotation, wind is transformed into electricity. An energy revolution is underway.

Electric wind rewinds to the beginning to explore the rise of wind energy in modern Britain. From the industrial revolution to the aftermath of war, through energy crises and the changing politics of the late twentieth century, we see how energy has shaped a nation – and how a nation is reflected and refracted through energy. Boldly charting Britain through its wildest, windiest places, this book takes us to the edges of land and beyond to think deeply about the role of nature in politics, science and technology. Visionaries and hippies join engineers and entrepreneurs. Traditions and local cultures meet infrastructure and industry in this captivating history.

At a time when action on carbon emissions is urgent, Electric wind offers examples, ideas and stories to fuel change going forwards. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in nature, climate change, landscape and the making of modern Britain.

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Electric wind: An energy history of modern Britain

Electric wind: An energy history of modern Britain

by Marianna Dudley
Electric wind: An energy history of modern Britain

Electric wind: An energy history of modern Britain

by Marianna Dudley

Hardcover

$130.00 
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    Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on October 14, 2025

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Overview

A cutting-edge history of wind power in Britain.

There are turbines on the horizon. The blades whirl with metronomic rhythm. With each rotation, wind is transformed into electricity. An energy revolution is underway.

Electric wind rewinds to the beginning to explore the rise of wind energy in modern Britain. From the industrial revolution to the aftermath of war, through energy crises and the changing politics of the late twentieth century, we see how energy has shaped a nation – and how a nation is reflected and refracted through energy. Boldly charting Britain through its wildest, windiest places, this book takes us to the edges of land and beyond to think deeply about the role of nature in politics, science and technology. Visionaries and hippies join engineers and entrepreneurs. Traditions and local cultures meet infrastructure and industry in this captivating history.

At a time when action on carbon emissions is urgent, Electric wind offers examples, ideas and stories to fuel change going forwards. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in nature, climate change, landscape and the making of modern Britain.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781526182944
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Publication date: 10/14/2025
Pages: 184
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Marianna Dudley is Senior Lecturer in Environmental Humanities at the University of Bristol. She is the author of An Environmental History of the UK Defence Estate (2012).

Table of Contents

Introduction
1 Experiments
2 Where the wind blows
3 Electricity at the edges
4 Do-it-yourself energy
5 Turning a profit
6 The ground and the grid: Resistance to wind
7 Offshore
8 Energy imaginaries
Conclusion
Index

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