Can you do: Kettle Falls, Colville, Chewelah, Ione & more: On Solar (active/passive) & wind (house)

[Small and solar]

Greetings to all. It is my first day on here so forgive me if I can not quote the authors of some of the great post I have read and replied to in my first few hours here. I will pull the posts and thank all of you that have posted such GREAT news on the areas of Kettle Falls, Colville, Chewelah, Ione and som much more in that area.

Does anyone have experience (even hearsay) on solar electricity, solar hot water, and wind power in this area? My wife and I are considering a move in the next 1-2 years to this area of the country from Phoenix, AZ. We have done a ton of on-line work and plan to puts boots in the dirt this spring. We are looking for rolling hills/ mountains, streams rivers, creeks, snow, snow skiing, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, and more. So does the area truly offer the tall green stuff (we are in Phoenix so trees are not as popular here)?

We will need an internet connection (the only draw back) with some speed to earn our incomes as it stands today. Is there satellite internet available at a reasonable cost? I would hope we can find land where phone lines and utilities don't quite reach, while still being close enough to people and coffee!

So with this introduction comes the main question... Solar... wind... anyone?

We are looking for "off the grid", but not "off our rockers". We want to watch a 50 inch plasma TV and listen to Sirius, we just want to do it on our own power.

Thanks

[goodmanm]

I don't know of anyone personally (been awhile since I was back there) but I did find this news article:

http://www.djc.com/news/enviro/11123723.html

[Small and solar]

Wonderful, Thank you for taking the time.

[swsha4]

Hi Small and Solar --- I don't know the situation in that area but I have been recently looking into the solar and wind technologies and I can tell you it is really taking off lately. With solar, nanotechnology is changing the dynamic with amazing speed. They are coming up with much simpler and lower cost panels and even solar collection paint! Much of it will collect in cloudier weather as well. Just do a google of "nanotechnology+solar" and you will get all sorts of information on this.

Good luck!

[StealthRabbit]

I'd try to stay on the Colville side (vs Ione) for warmer climate

my friend in Ione has fiber optics (and HS internet) due to the presence and needs of the local hydro power dam needs. Power rates are very low also

WA has some terrific solar incentives
DSIRE: Incentives by State: Incentives in Washington

here are some other sites.
NWSC (Mike Nelson is the guru here, and drafted WA state policies)
Solar Washington
Sustainable Living Center
Winter Sun Design: Home Page

Off grid is possible and pretty ez, but... if you can get power to your site cheap enough you might consider selling power back to utility. If you get solar equip that was manf in WA you can get incentives that allow you to sell back at a greater rate than the utility power sells it for. I have a friend who gets $80/month back from utility, but he is in CA and can sell power from his grease powered genset (which we cannot do in WA, tho if you have the 2nd meter (backwards) setup + solar + wind... ) This friend uses the heat from the genset engine to warm his floors and makes excess power while doing so.
like this
Green-Trust Heat & Power System - GreenTrust

there are some decent discussion groups, which I'm sure your know about (Wastewatt on Yahoo, or alternative construction)
HomebrewPower : Home-Brew Power - Life After Fossil Fuel
Fry Guys - GreenTrust

[Small and solar]

Janb,

Thanks for the great information. I have put out emails to a few folks from your list of links.

Thanks again.

[509]

Does anyone have experience (even hearsay) on solar electricity, solar hot water, and wind power in this area?

We have an off-grid house in central Washington and have lived in the Colville area. Solar works...it is, however, very expensive. A home system will run you 20,000 dollars plus about 25cents a kilo-watt hour to run. If money is no object...go for it. However, the one advantage of the Colville area is that there are powerlines everywhere. Almost all the homes are on grid power. Also the Colville area has good water so well are generally not a problem.

So does the area truly offer the tall green stuff (we are in Phoenix so trees are not as popular here)?

Lots of that tall green stuff. You will grow less fond of it as you spend more time in it.

We will need an internet connection (the only draw back) with some speed to earn our incomes as it stands today. Is there satellite internet available at a reasonable cost? I would hope we can find land where phone lines and utilities don't quite reach, while still being close enough to people and coffee!

Lots of information on satellite internet. The RV community uses it more than anybody else. Drawbacks are initial expense and high monthly costs. Sounds like solar again.


We are looking for "off the grid", but not "off our rockers". We want to watch a 50 inch plasma TV and listen to Sirius, we just want to do it on our own power.

Our neighbor has a 50 inch plasma TV. His comment is that he has a generator system with solar as a backup. Most people off the grid try living as solar with generator backup.

Try to site Backwoods Solar Electric Systems. Click on reference materials and then select Electric bill to high. That will give you an honest evaulation of if off-grid living is for you.

You might want to also try this web site. Electricity from the sun since 1.

That is the solar supplier out of Flagstaff. I do know if they have a retail store, but if they do you should drive up and see all the stuff that you will need and the cost.

I have bought panels from both backwoodssolar and windsun. They are reputable companies.

Henry Kissinger once said " All you need to know about a country is whether people are trying to get in or out". So far more people are trying to get on the grid...than people are disconnecting from the grid. That should tell you a lot about the relative advantages of grid and off-grid power.

Solar is great. I love it. But for people with high consumption lifestyles (sorry but that 42 inch plasma will have to go...Sirius is ok) it will not work.