Born in Scotland in 1952, Hugh spent a couple of years in East Africa before being schooled at Edinburgh Academy. After graduating from Cambridge University (Mathematics and experimental Psychology) he moved to Scoraig, a remote peninsula in NW Scotland where he lives to this day. Scoraig is a windy place with no electrical grid supply and so windpower is an ideal choice for charging batteries. Starting from a very simple lifestyle with no electricity, Hugh learned to harness the wind for domestic power for all of the neighbours. Next he started writing a series of books including (recently) Windpower Workshop and A Wind Turbine Recipe Book. Hugh also teaches courses in small wind turbine construction at Scoraig and in many locations around the world. His simple, open-source designs have been adopted by groups in many countries in the developing world and the west.