More people without commercial electricity (off grid livin')

[jpak]

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=354911&Category=5&subCategoryID=

LAKE BILLY CHINOOK, Ore. Before power lines, homesteaders had no choice. They lit their lanterns, stoked their fires and packed away winter ice against sizzling summers.

Owners of about 250 homes in the Three Rivers community near this central Oregon lake are far from homesteading or camping out. But they are among a growing number of Americans who shun power lines, choosing to live "off the grid," without commercial power.

Everyone in Three Rivers gets most of their power from dark solar panels on their rooftops or on nearby freestanding structures positioned to more efficiently capture the sun. Some supplement it with energy generated by windmills.

Solar power easily handles their computers, lights, large-screen televisions, microwave ovens, refrigerator-freezers and more.

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[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Newton Co AR has had folks doing this for decades

There's a group of folks who share a large bit of land on one of the taller mountains that have been living totally off the grid since they built their houses in the '80s. There's a man who has manufactured solar panels and is a distributor for DC / propane appliances there for the same amount of time.

[Sukie1941]

2. Lots of individuals do this, too

I live in So Oregon, and we have people who have built homes in the hills/mountains that are totally off the grid.

I live in my RV on a big river here, so I can be on "city" or self-contained, which gives me some sense of security if things go ballistic in this country.

[jpak]

3. There are well over a thousand solar off-grid homes in Maine

No one has an accurate count because most are way off the beaten path (the state energy office is working with the Maine Solar Energy Association to do an accurate assessment though).

One solar dealer in Starks (ME) has installed over 700 off-grid PV systems since the late 1970's.