🚧 DRAFT IN PROGRESS - WORK IN PROGRESS 🚧
A comprehensive guide to what's wrong with Britain's electricity and energy system - covering grid infrastructure, renewable energy policies, market failures, and policy chaos. Perfect for energy professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding UK energy dysfunction.
⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTICE: This book is currently a DRAFT IN PROGRESS. Content is being actively developed and may contain incomplete sections, placeholder text, or information that requires verification. Please check back regularly for updates and improvements.
🌐 Read the book online - Complete with interactive table of contents, chapter navigation, and mobile-optimized reading experience.
- Energy Professionals seeking comprehensive understanding beyond their specialty
- Policy Makers analyzing UK energy system failures and opportunities
- Researchers & Students studying energy policy, economics, and regulation
- Industry Stakeholders understanding market dynamics and regulatory challenges
- Concerned Citizens wanting to understand Britain's energy system problems
- Grid Infrastructure - Transmission constraints, regional disparities, and connectivity issues
- Renewable Energy Policy - Feed-in tariffs, ROCs, CFD mechanisms, and subsidy chaos
- Market Failures - Price caps, electricity levies, smart meter rollout problems
- Policy Inconsistencies - Brexit impacts, regulatory fragmentation, and political instability
- Consumer Issues - Energy poverty, billing problems, and market manipulation
- Future Challenges - Energy storage, grid balancing, and transition planning
All formats can be built locally using the provided scripts:
📥 Direct Download Links - Ready to read formats
| Format | Description | Download Link | File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🌐 Website | Read online with full formatting | 🌐 Read Online | - |
| 📚 EPUB | For most e-readers and mobile devices | ⬇️ Download EPUB | 3.2 MB |
| 📱 MOBI | For Amazon Kindle devices | ⬇️ Download MOBI | 275 KB |
| For printing and desktop reading | ⬇️ Download PDF | 3.5 MB |
🔄 Auto-Build System: All downloads are automatically built and updated on every commit using a pre-commit hook. No manual builds required!
- Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/benjaminwatts/watts-wrong.git - Install dependencies:
npm install - Build all formats:
npm run build:complete - Find your files in the
dist/directory
The built files are available in the dist/ directory:
- EPUB:
dist/watts-wrong.epub- For most e-readers - MOBI:
dist/watts-wrong.mobi- For Kindle devices - Website:
dist/website/- Read online in your browser
💡 For PDF generation, you'll need LaTeX installed: brew install --cask mactex (macOS) or sudo apt-get install texlive-full (Ubuntu/Debian)
- Chapter 1: Watt's Wrong with Britain's Energy? - Welcome and overview
- Chapter 2: Biomass - The biomass energy problem
- Chapter 3: Feed-in Tariffs and ROCs - Renewable energy subsidies
- Chapter 4: North-South and NIMBYs - Geographic and political opposition to energy infrastructure
- Chapter 5: Nuclear - Nuclear power policy and development
- Chapter 8: Regional Privatisation - Market fragmentation
- Chapter 9: Smart Meters - Digital infrastructure rollout
- Chapter 10: Electricity Levies - Hidden costs and taxes
- Chapter 11: Price Cap - Energy price regulation
- Chapter 12: EPCs - Energy Performance Certificates
- Chapter 13: RHI vs Bus - Renewable Heat Incentive comparison
- Chapter 14: CFD vs Marginal Pricing - Energy market mechanisms
- Chapter 15: Flexibility, Balancing and Storage - The grid's hidden challenges and balancing mechanisms
- Chapter 16: Exercise Duty and Road Pricing - Transport energy policy
- Chapter 17: Brexit Friction - EU exit impacts on energy
- Chapter 18: Interest Rates - Impact of interest rates on energy investment
- Chapter 19: Shale Gas - A Missed Opportunity - Economic benefits, environmental considerations, and political factors
- Chapter 20: Power Versus Other Sectors - Energy sector competition and policy priorities
Simply browse the chapters above or visit the GitHub Pages site for the best reading experience.
To build the book for different formats:
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build EPUB
npm run build:epub
# Build Kindle (MOBI)
npm run build:kindle
# Build PDF
npm run build:pdf
# Build Audiobook
npm run build:audiobook
# Build Website
npm run build:website
# Build all formats
npm run build:completeThe built files will be available in the dist/ directory.
This book is written in Markdown format. To contribute:
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Edit the Markdown files in the
chapters/directory - Run
pre-commit run --all-filesfor spelling checks - Submit a pull request
- Chapter 12: EPCs - Incomplete, needs completion of missing sections and data
- Chapter 13: RHI vs Bus - Needs expansion and completion
- Chapter 14: CFD vs Marginal Pricing - Missing chapter (file not found)
- Chapter 18: Interest Rates - Needs expansion with more analysis
- Chapter 20: Power Versus Other Sectors - Needs development
- Chapter 19: Shale Gas - Recently enhanced, good quality
- Chapter 10: Electricity Levies - Well-developed
- Chapter 17: Brexit Friction - Good content
- Chapter 15: Flexibility, Balancing and Storage - New comprehensive chapter on grid flexibility challenges
watts-wrong/
├── chapters/ # Markdown chapter files
├── assets/ # Images, diagrams, CSS files
├── scripts/ # Build scripts
├── dist/ # Built output files
├── README.md # This file (also serves as online reader)
└── package.json # Build dependencies
- Create a new Markdown file in the
chapters/directory - Follow the naming convention:
XX-chapter-title.md - Update the table of contents in this README
- The build scripts will automatically include new chapters
The build system uses:
- Pandoc: For converting Markdown to EPUB/MOBI/PDF
- Node.js: For build automation
- Build Scripts: For automated local builds and deployments
- Text-to-Speech: For generating audiobooks (local and cloud options)
- CSS Styling: For consistent formatting across all formats
Run these commands to build all formats:
- ✅ Website build:
npm run build:website - ✅ EPUB generation:
npm run build:epub - ✅ MOBI generation:
npm run build:kindle - ✅ PDF generation:
npm run build:pdf(requires LaTeX) - ✅ Audiobook creation:
npm run build:audiobook - ✅ All formats at once:
npm run build:complete
The book automatically deploys to GitHub Pages when you push to the main branch.
- Build the MOBI file:
npm run build:kindle - Upload to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
- Follow Amazon's publishing guidelines
- Prerequisite: Install LaTeX first:
- macOS:
brew install --cask mactex - Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt-get install texlive-full - Windows: Install MiKTeX from https://miktex.org/
- macOS:
- Build the PDF:
npm run build:pdf - Perfect for:
- Printing and physical distribution
- Academic submissions
- Professional presentations
- Offline reading
- Build the audiobook:
npm run build:audiobook - Choose your TTS provider:
- Local: Free, uses system TTS (macOS: say, Linux: espeak)
- Cloud: High quality, paid services (Azure, Google, ElevenLabs, OpenAI)
- Upload to audiobook platforms (Audible, etc.)
This work is licensed under the MIT License - feel free to use, modify, and distribute as long as you include the original license and attribution.
- 📱 Responsive Design - Optimized for all devices
- 🎧 Audiobook Generation - Multiple TTS options (local and cloud)
- 📚 Multi-format Export - EPUB, MOBI, PDF, and website
- 🤖 Automated Builds - Build scripts handle everything locally
- 📖 Markdown Source - Easy to contribute and modify
- 🌐 GitHub Pages - Instant online publishing
Built with ❤️ using Markdown and open source tools