Keith Thompson: Totally Off the Grid

You might want to visit the original source at YouTube (fun way to blow an hour) and check out some of the comments. Skeeter (Keith Thompson) has become somewhat of an Internet sensation and so I couldn’t resist posting a few sample comments out of hundreds:
– “We are used to a high level of material comfort in our lives. I want that, I just don’t want to pay for it for the rest of my life.”
Spot on.

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Enough Wind to Power Global Energy Demand 20x

A Vestas wind turbine. Image credit: Vestas
A Vestas wind turbine. Image credit: Vestas

Near-surface winds could provide more than 20 times today’s global power demand

There is enough energy available in winds to meet all of the world’s demand. Atmospheric turbines that convert steadier and faster high-altitude winds into energy could generate even more power than ground- and ocean-based units. New research from Carnegie’s Ken Caldeira examines the limits of the amount of power that could be harvested from winds, as well as the effects high-altitude wind power could have on the climate as a whole. Their work is published September 9 by Nature Climate Change.

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Leasing Solar Equipment

SolarCity engineers will recommend the optimal home solar panels, taking into account your local weather, roof space, architectural, aesthetic and energy-production needs.
SolarCity engineers will recommend the optimal home solar panels, taking into account your local weather, roof space, architectural, aesthetic and energy-production needs.

This might be a good time to buy a solar energy system for your home. Consider leasing rather than buying equipment to reduce the initial investment needed. Companies such as Sunrun and SolarCity install solar energy systems for little or no payment, then charge for the power generated at lower cost than most utilities. Solar equipment prices are dropping fast – about half price from one year ago. At the same time, technological advancements are improving the performance. And since fossil fuel costs are expected to continue rising in the future, renewable energy alternatives such as solar become even more attractive.

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Small-scale Biogas Plants

Simple sketch of household biogas plant
Simple sketch of household biogas plant

Our blog focuses on low cost, sustainable ways of building homes with local resources. It’s equally exciting and practical learning about alternatives to costly centralized grid systems (electrical, gas, sewer, water) that tend to lock people into the system and make them vulnerable to price controls. Biogas is one of many renewable energy systems that provide greater independence at very low cost. Biogas is especially practical in rural areas where running power and gas lines are cost prohibitive. Distributed systems such as biogas and other biofuels, solar water heaters, wood stoves, solar ovens, etc. located at or near the source typically keep functioning during times of emergencies. When a whole city or region is without power, water and sewer during a blizzard, your family can be safe and snug.

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Jean Pain’s Compost-based Bioenergy System


“Jean Pain (1930–1981) was a French innovator who developed a compost-based bioenergy system that produced 100% of his energy needs. He heated water to 60 degrees celsius at a rate of 4 litres a minute which he used for washing and heating. He also distilled enough methane to run an electricity generator, cooking elements, and power his truck. This method of creating usable energy from composting materials has come to be known as Jean Pain Composting, or the Jean Pain Method.

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