New Books Network Marianna Dudley, "Electric Wind: An Energy History of Modern Britain by Marianna Dudley" (Manchester UP, 2025)
Mar 14, 2026
Marianna Dudley, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Humanities at the University of Bristol and author of Electric Wind, explores Britain’s wind power history. She traces early inventors, meteorology’s role, Orkney’s turbine tests, state versus grassroots projects, privatization and commercialization, aesthetic and political opposition, offshore expansion, and community-owned alternatives.
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Electric Wind Born From 19th Century Inventors
- Modern electric wind emerged from 19th-century inventors who combined old wind tech with new electrical science.
- Charles Brush and James Blyth experimented linking sails/windmills to electrical systems, spawning early electric wind prototypes.
Mapping Wind Was As Important As Building Turbines
- Meteorological knowledge shaped wind technology because developers needed to know where wind actually blows on land.
- Britain ran a national wind survey mid-20th century after realizing land wind patterns were poorly understood compared with maritime knowledge.
Orkney Proved Wind Could Feed The Grid
- Orkney became a testing ground because it had Britain’s strongest recorded winds and a contained island grid.
- A 100 kW turbine was installed in 1951 and survived extreme 1952 storms, proving grid connection was feasible despite hardware failures.
