Sustainable Energy Independence

Solar power allows us to declare independence from the corporations that control our access to energy.

Could you imagine being independent of fossil fuel corporations and power companies, having the freedom to get all the energy you need from your own land? That’s the allure of off-grid solar living. From the humble owner of a camp in the woods with one panel and an old car battery to a millionaire in a mega-mansion on a mountaintop with a solar roof and whole-house battery bank, many of us have the opportunity to achieve sustainable energy independence today.

Most families and businesses became dependent on the fossil fuel industry and the monopoly power utilities because they had no practical choice. It’s estimated that the average vehicle burns between 400 and 600 gallons of gasoline every year. Even if you convert your vehicles to burn ethanol (which you might be able to make yourself), that’s a lot of moonshine to distill!

But now, with electric vehicles and all-electric homes, you don’t have to make fuel for energy independence. You just need to generate electricity. In Maine, covering one parking space with solar panels captures about four thousand peak watts of power in full sun. Those panels produce about 5,000 kilowatt hours of electricity year after year, which is about how much energy the average EV uses per year. In other…