by @HeatherSmith Heather Smith on 10/03/2025 at 4:16 am
Here’s the agenda, hope you can join us. Please reply with your thoughts on updates, questions and asks or add notes to the rolling meeting log:

Meeting starts at 12:45 (room open from 12:30).

1pm – 1:45: Helen Haines will join us. Welcome from Nick Mason-Smith (Indigo), Facilitated by Rob Carolane (Indigo Power Foundation).

Helen will be keen to hear our updates and questions.

2pm: Indigo Power and surplus solar – Nick Mason-Smith will provide a presentation about plans for 2025.

Q & A

Please RSVP by replying to this email

Please register also if you are joining us online

by @HeatherSmith Heather Smith on 27/02/2025 at 10:24 pm
An enormous thanks to Taryn, Imogen and Eleanor – we had a great session on Wednesday and enjoyed a wide ranging discussion about the “hopeful action” that so many of our community energy groups are using to participate in the shift to clean energy.
A big thanks to the Sustainable Living Festival for hosting us and promoting the event.
And thank you – for coming along, listening and contributing!
A few of you didn’t make it, and I’m sure others would love to ponder the slides some more so please find linked below:
Community-led impact – the importance of community energy

A video recording of the three speakers and the first part of the discussion

Taryn Lane, Hepburn Energy – slides

eBook Hopeful Action: A handbook for Community-Led Climate Transitions

Imogen Jubb, Ironbark Sustainability – slides

Australian Local Government Climate Review

Eleanor Buckley, Community Power Agency – slides

From Grassroots to Grid: Community Energy Impact Report 2023

Summary of the key results by Coalition for Community Energy

Unconventional voices article in the Conversation provides some ideas about reaching community members who are not like us.

The movement monitor by the social commons library is mapping groups around Australia

Eleanor provided a couple of article that help tell the story of local economic development – local capacity building and energy workforce housing

And we talked about the work of Next Economy, Ethical Fields and Dianne Dredge who are all telling the story about community wealth building.

by @HeatherSmith Heather Smith on 24/02/2025 at 11:40 am
…and here’s a nice obituary in the AFR Vale to a true warrior of power

by @HeatherSmith Heather Smith on 13/02/2025 at 4:14 am
Debora Spar’s Ruling the Waves: Cycles of Discovery, Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the Internet examines recurring patterns in technological revolutions to predict how rules for future industries might unfold[1]. Spar argues that industries and technologies go through four predictable phases: Innovation, Commercialization, Creative Anarchy, and Rules[1][7]. These rules include property rights, contracts, intellectual property, and industry standards, all of which shape the development of industries and technologies[1].
The Four Phases:

Innovation: This initial phase involves experimentation, invention, and discovery, with no established rules[1].
Commercialization: Pioneers, pirates, marshals, and outlaws define the new territory, leading to extraordinary profits and speculative investments in the absence of rules[1].
Creative Anarchy: The technology matures rapidly, leading to competition and a struggle for survival among players. Established pioneers seek order and market control, raising questions about rules and property rights[1].
Rules: The industry begins to demand rules to govern its development, often inviting authority back in. These rules can include well-defined property rights, contractual enforcement, intellectual property laws, and regulation[1].

Spar illustrates these phases using historical case studies such as shipping, the telegraph, radio broadcasting, satellite television, encryption, and online music[1][6]. The book suggests that understanding these patterns can provide insights into the evolution of the internet sector and the establishment of rules for cyberspace[1].
Citations:
[1] What We’re Reading: Debora Spar’s “Ruling the Waves”
[2] Ruling the Waves – Debora Spar
[3] Ruling the Waves: Cycles of Discovery, Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the Internet | Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
[4] Ruling the Waves: Business and Politics along the Technological Frontier – Research Summary – Faculty & Research – Harvard Business School
[5] https://www.harpercollins.com/products/ruling-the-waves-debora-l-spar
[6] Ruling the waves : cycles of discovery, chaos, and wealth from the compass to the Internet / Debora L…. – Catalogue | National Library of Australia
[7] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234789350_Ruling_the_Waves_Cycles_of_Discovery_Chaos_and_Wealth_from_the_Compass_to_the_Internet
[8] EBSCO Locate

by @HeatherSmith Heather Smith on 12/02/2025 at 11:46 am
Martin Chick’s Electricity and Energy Policy in Britain, France and the United States since 1945 compares the development of electricity and energy policy in these three countries, blending economic theory with historical evidence[3][7]. The book examines the political factors affecting the implementation of theory, covering topics such as nationalization and privatization, regulation, deregulation and liberalization, and marginal cost pricing[3]. It also addresses the OPEC oil price hikes of the 1970s, threats to national energy security, electricity blackouts, and the efforts of the European Commission to promote competition[3].
Key aspects explored in the book:

Energy Pricing: The book analyzes energy pricing, highlighting that France, in contrast to the U.S. and Britain, adopted rational economic analysis and marginal-cost principles in its energy policy after WWII[1].
Restructuring: Chick discusses the introduction of unregulated competition in wholesale electricity markets in Britain and the United States, the privatization of the industry in Britain, and the resistance to both privatization and market competition in France[1].
Policy Implementation: The book explores how past decisions conditioned policy choices, especially regarding privatization and deregulation[3]. It also emphasizes how historical context affects current debates on energy policy[3].
Electricity Prices: A comparison of policies impacting energy-intensive industries reveals that the UK has a base electricity price for energy-intensive industries within the range of other EU Member States, higher than France and Germany, but lower than Italy and Denmark[2].
Low-Carbon Electricity: France has a very low-carbon electricity mix due to its large nuclear fleet[6]. To maintain electricity security and a low-carbon footprint, France is investing in efficiency, new nuclear power plants, and renewable energy[6].
Energy Demand: While total energy demand is set to fall in each country, the demand for electricity will increase as industrial processes, heat generation and transport become more and more electrified[4].

Citations:
[1] Electricity and Energy Policy in Britain, France and the United States since 1945 – EH.net
[2] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a78eece40f0b62b22cbdf2c/12-527-international-policies-impacting-energy-intensive-industries.pdf
[3] Electricity and Energy Policy in Britain, France and the United States since 1945
[4] How energy systems and policies of Germany and France compare | Clean Energy Wire
[5] Electricity and Energy Policy in Britain, France and the United States since 1945 by Martin Chick | Goodreads
[6] France – Countries & Regions – IEA
[7] https://find.slv.vic.gov.au/discovery/fulldisplay/alma9915922273607636/61SLV_INST:SLV
[8] Comparing energy transition policy in Europe and the US