Living with SOLAR & WIND

A rural couple made a successful power play to supply their homestead with clean, affordable energy.Since moving to our 5-acre homestead in southwestern Wisconsin more than 20 years ago, our goals have been to maximize self-sufficiency, minimize energy use, and untether ourselves from fossil fuels a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Mother earth news 2018-06 (288), p.14-19
Main Authors: Ivanko, John D, Kivirist, Lisa
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative energy
Cost control
Electric properties
Grants
Photovoltaic cells
Renewable energy
Renewable resources
Solar energy
Sun
Tax credits
Taxation
Turbines
Wind
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Summary:A rural couple made a successful power play to supply their homestead with clean, affordable energy.Since moving to our 5-acre homestead in southwestern Wisconsin more than 20 years ago, our goals have been to maximize self-sufficiency, minimize energy use, and untether ourselves from fossil fuels and the emissions associated with burning them.Since our homestead was already connected to the grid when we moved in, simply using the grid for surplus electricity storage made the best economic sense and sidestepped the maintenance and battery disposal aspect of an off-grid backup system.Because it generates three-phase alternating current, there's relatively little line loss, unlike PV systems, which generate direct current.[...]the PV system will qualify under the current federal tax credit for renewable energy systems (soon to be phased out); no incentives or tax credits exist for upgrading or replacing different components of an existing renewable energy system.
ISSN:0027-1535