About the Author

Paul Matthews originally trained and worked as an electronics engineer. Deciding on a career change, he retrained as a technician installing small scale wind turbines in late 2006. Horrified by the poor performance of many of the systems he was asked to install, he went back to University and emerged with a degree in Energy Engineering. A spell in India followed, working on a new wind farm and hydro-power station near Bangalore. During this time, he also designed a small household solar energy system for Indian homes to supplement unreliable grid electricity, replacing generators and kerosene lamps with a greener alternative. Inspired by the potential for small scale renewable systems, Paul returned to the UK to work on smaller energy systems. He designed a solar energy system designed to provide remote African communities with electricity, worked with a team designing a hydro-electric system that could be installed on a weir and contributed to the design of a small tidal energy system that will be undertaking trials off the coast of Scotland in 2015 and 2016. Today, Paul is working on an off-shore wind project in Sweden and consulting with a charity installing solar in remote African villages. He divides his time between Sweden and his home in England where he lives with his wife and two children.