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Windpower fanatic. Born Scotland 1952, educated Edinburgh
and Cambridge. Dropped out and went back to the land in NW Scotland
where I remain. For 4-5 years I did without electricity except
what I could rob off 12V vehicle systems on rare shopping expeditions,
by connecting an elderly car battery to bits of loose wire. This
ran my cassette tape machine.
- In 1978 I got seriously bitten by windpower and have been
partly or totally obsessed with it ever since. This is a windy
place and very dark in winter, so there is a strong sense of
victory when you can harvest energy from a crashing gale and
swamp the house in dazzling light. Lots of bits would drop off
my windmill(s) but I persevered and ended up making windmills
for most of my neighbours. They still ring me up when they need
the windmill fixed. There are about 30 windpower systems within
a few minutes' walk of my house.
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- In the late 1980s I decided to broaden my perspective and
I started working on windmills built by others. I was amazed
to find that bits drop off them too (I thought it was just me).
In fact it turned out that I was pretty good at fixing windmills
by then and so I did some work with manufacturers, testing and
developing machines, in the demanding conditions we have here.
I also wrote up some of my ideas and started teaching courses
at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales. Stopped milking
a cow and bought a fax machine.
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- More recently I have designed a windmill for manufacture
in Africa and also installed some direct AC hydro systems. I
find hydro very exciting because it provides much more energy
at lower cost (on a good site) and you do not need batteries.
I hate batteries.
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- I like making windmills but I rarely have time to do it apart
from some maintenance (on the many existing machines which I
look after) and building prototypes of new ideas and designs.
I also do things like dig the garden, extend and improve my house,
and get involved
- in many other projects.
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