Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby
Not necessarily true. You -can- go "off-grid" and not be hooked up to the utility company at all. There are people who've gone that route. They generate their own electricity, don't pay anything to anyone, don't get anything back from anyone. There are even a few self-sustaining communities that have gone this route scattered around the country.
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OrangeBlossomBaby - This comment of yours could be interpreted as somewhat misleading. Here’s why. Below is a summary of the ‘self-sustaining communities’ you allude to that are not connected to the grid. I couldn’t stop laughing while reading through the community summaries. Does The Villages allow outhouses or homes made out of straw bales and mud??
Drum roll please:
Three Rivers (Oregon) - Population - 80, powered by solar panels,
wind turbines, and backup generators, water is periodically hauled in. It contains mostly vacation homes.
Greater World Earthship Community (New Mexico) - the world's largest off-grid, legal subdivision, 634 acres contains passive solar houses made of natural materials like
adobe, recycled tires, and cans, each with1.8 kilowatts of solar power, solar-powered water collector and self-contained sewage treatment system.
Propane powers the stoves. Note: NM is one of the sunniest locations in the US.
Breitenbbush (Oregon) - 85 residents - set on 154 acres doubles as a worker-owned cooperative that runs the Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat.
Geothermal waters help to heat the complex of 100 buildings. The community has a
hydropower plant to supply electricity.
Earthaven (NC)- 75 people on 320 acres. 12 "neighborhoods," each containing two to eight homesites. Everything is powered by solar panels and
hydropower. Residents catch water off roofs for use in irrigation.
The list goes on.