Godfrey Boyle, who has died aged 74, was founder-editor in 1972 of Undercurrents, a magazine of “radical science and people’s technology”, which inspired a variety of sustainable energy, housing, transport and community projects. In its founding year he led the editorial team of Undercurrents (known affectionately as Undies) to the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, where they distributed a special issue on energy and organised an exhibition on alternative technologies. The publication lasted 10 years before merging with Resurgence magazine.

In 1975 Godfrey co-edited (with Peter Harper) Radical Technology, a book with contributions from many of the Undies stable that was perhaps best known for the series of Visions drawings by the anarchist artist Clifford Harper. In the same year Godfrey published his influential book Living on the Sun, which advanced the then novel idea that industrial countries could make a transition to renewable power.

In 1976 he joined the Open University, where he created and led the Alternative Technology Group (later the Energy and Environment Research Unit), which pioneered teaching and research into renewable energy. His own research concentrated on wind and solar systems (and involved some fun with early electric bikes). He edited the first three editions (1996, 2004, 2012) of Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future, the bestselling introductory textbook on renewable energy.

Godfrey was born in Brentford, west London, to Kevin Boyle, a quantity surveyor, and his wife, Phyllis (nee Snodgrass). The family moved when Godfrey was a baby to Belfast, where he and his sister, Mary, grew up, and where Godfrey was educated at St Malachy’s college. He enrolled for an electrical engineering degree at Queen’s University Belfast, where he ran societies, published alternative magazines, and was part of a small group of techies who ran a pirate radio station. Unfortunately he failed his finals, and when he was awarded an OU personal chair in 2009, he became perhaps the only professor in the UK without a degree.

Moving to London from Belfast, he worked as a journalist on Electronics Weekly, where he met Sally Maloney, whom he married in 1973. Sally did the graphic design and layout for Undercurrents. They had two children, Holly and Katie, and settled in Milton Keynes, living as part of the Rainbow Housing Cooperative that Godfrey was instrumental in establishing. They divorced in 1992. In later years Godfrey lived in London and Devon with his partner, Romy Fraser.

He loved music, especially jazz, and played the keyboard, harmonica and accordion in an OU band, Wimpey 3. He visited Glastonbury festival for many years and until the end of his life enjoyed being introduced to new music.

He is survived by Romy, Holly, Katie and four grandchildren.