Sweet Lightning?

Some years ago, we were involved with some Maori groups on an island where all the power was diesel-generated. We were working on modelling grid-defection, micro-storage, localized mini-grid co-ops, and the emerging economies of alternative energy. We wanted a name for our working group that reflected the culture of most of the participants. One old auntie suggested a local, colloquial Maori phrase for "good power" that literally (mis)translated back as "Sweet Lighting". For us, it was instantly evocative: it was sudden illumination.

Everybody should want "sweet lightning": power that fits in with the earth, is kind to the surrounding ecologies, and works with and for consumers.

The project ended, but for us the concept lived on. And so today, Sweet Lightning is an independent newsletter launched in December 2024.

We watch energy and the environment, and try to spy out the path ahead that can lead to what that old auntie, in her wisdom, described. We try to rely on facts only, and try to show you where these facts originate. And we hope you, too, can see a little bit of that sweet path forward.

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