Arthur Downing
@arthurdowning.bsky.social
Energy, economic history, Marxist memes. Substack here —> https://substack.com/@energynetworks
New blog from me on the only comparison to the AI data centre boom I can think of in electricity history.... The Grid is a perfect example of an anti-fragile asset. A platform that enables optionality. But past generations had better institutions and ownership models... substack.com/home/post/p-...
The Grid and War
Or the last time something like the AI data centre ‘boom’ happened
substack.com
On why Britain's current energy system is nothing like the Central Electricity Generating Board. It is something new. A Central Return Generating Board. open.substack.com/pub/energyne...
The myth of the central planner
Misremembering the CEGB (1958-1990)
open.substack.com
The Pensions Review is a great opportunity to boost the UK economy & help savers — but it's being missed. The state must use its fiscal might to enable better outcomes for both the economy & the public, while policymakers must be innovative & take risks. www.common-wealth.org/publications...
To Unlock Pension Funds, We Need to Unlock the Pensions Review | Briefing | Common Wealth
common-wealth.org
Why did electricity prices collapse between 1920 and 1940? In this post I tell the story of the Central Electricity Board - a remarkable, innovative, state owned entity that transformed the industry It was an engine of abundance open.substack.com/pub/energyne...
Engines of abundance
The role of the state in the collapse in electricity prices in Britain, 1920-1947.
open.substack.com
“Frenzied”: The first Scottish renewables boom, hydroelectric 1940-1970 My new blog tells the story of a remarkable construction boom that kept the lights on during the 1966 World Cup final. Also includes ‘fish lifts’, zonal pricing of renewables in Scotland! open.substack.com/pub/energyne...
“Frenzied”: The first Scottish renewables boom, hydroelectric 1940-1970
The story of a remarkable construction boom that kept the lights on during the 1966 World Cup final. Also includes ‘fish lifts’, zonal pricing of renewables in Scotland, the origins of ‘Treasury Brain
open.substack.com
What if the economic chaos from Trump's tariffs is part of the plan? Is there method in the madness, or could it backfire? This week we demystify the Trump administration's plan to reindustrialise the US and reshape the global trade system: neweconomybrief.net/the-digest/t...
Building energy grids is slower and more expensive than ever before in British history. New blog. energynetworks.substack.com/p/building-e...
This is a superb report and thread. If we want a playbook for how to do this, it is in our own history. From 1947 to 1979 the British state successfully coordinated a gargantuan programme of infrastructure development (water, gas, electricity) and housebuilding.
Raoul Ruparel@rruparel.bsky.social · last yr.🚨New research🚨 out today from us at BCG Centre for Growth – based on current project pipeline next 5 years could see £700-£900bn invested across 8 key sectors. This is 2.1x-2.7x level in past 5 years. Huge opportunity for the UK. But... 1/ www.bcg.com/united-kingd...
Finally made the move over from the other place! Starting off with a recent piece I wrote about what the Chancellor needs to do to deliver on growth ambitions. A big part is, focus on delivery & implementation (often the hardest things in govt) (1/2) www.linkedin.com/pulse/easier...
Easier Said Than Done: How the Chancellor Can Deliver on UK Infrastructure and Growth Ambitions
The first job of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ speech on 29 January was to demonstrate that this government is serious about growth and set a positive way forward for the UK economy. On this, she clearly ...
linkedin.com
I find it intensely amusing that the French nuclear programme in the 1970s used a 0% discount rate. If they had listened to some economists they wouldn’t have any. And now they might lock up AI as well. Maybe we should study more how organisations like EDF actually worked back then
Want to know more about the history of energy? Here are three ways of thinking about it with some tips on fun stuff to read. I realize this may have been more helpful before Christmas. open.substack.com/pub/energyne...
Three ways of thinking about the history of energy
With some tips on fun things to read
open.substack.com
Utterly brilliant piece by Commonwealth During the energy crisis 51 per cent of profits went to the wealthiest one per cent, while the bottom 50 per cent not only received just one per cent of the total, but ordinary people also bore the higher burden from increased, everyday costs lnkd.in/eH84BBVX
An energy transition requires managing the backwash as well as the bow wave
Common Wealth@cmmonwealth.bsky.social · 2y ago“The question is how long we put off the inevitable and what we sacrifice the longer we cede control to the profit motive – stability, justice & opportunities to build public wealth” Our new briefing on the North Sea & public asset ownership in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/environment/...
My thoughts on the essay Foundations. ‘Fixing planning’ is no silver bullet. open.substack.com/pub/energyne...
Without Foundation
A critique of the essay Foundations by Bowman, Southwood and Hughes
open.substack.com
When did Britain stop building stuff? Lots of interest in this at the moment. Here is the pattern in energy since 1950. If we are serious about net zero we would the 1950s and 60s are the benchmark.
"Back then people didn't have deal with NIMBY's". I hear that a lot. The first ever National Grid involved negotiations with 222k landowners and tenants. The Central Electricity Board appointed thousands of officers to persuade. Astonishingly, only 600 cases (0.27%) needed compulsory purchase.
The crisis of the present was a choice. Incredible analysis.
Common Wealth@cmmonwealth.bsky.social · 2y agoWe can’t understand the geography of capitalism in our present moment without seeing how these old industries overlap with the new. "Two Towns" features an interactive map showing how ex-industrial towns were not “left behind” but actively made into havens for low-paid work.
The history of the French water sector since 1848 suggests: public ownership is good for building assets, private operation good for sweating them. It is interesting that even now while private sector organisations operate the system the investment is publicly funded. Source in comments.
“BRITAIN HASN’T BUILT A RESERVOIR FOR 30 YEARS!!!!!! When did we build reservoirs? Reservoir capacity grew 82% in the 1950s, 45% in the 1960s, 6% in the 70s & 80s, and just 1% in the 90s, 00s, & 10s Water was under public ownership until 1989. It has been privatized since then.
