@Taswegian
Apologies for the first post - it escaped me before I edited it.
You and others might be interested in the following story from small villages in the state of New York.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175618/tomgram%3A_ellen_cantarow%2C_%22little_revolution%2C%22_big_fracking_consequences/?utm_source=TomDispatch&utm_campaign=f262c90b90-TD_Cantarow11_18_2012&utm_medium=email#more
Posted by halduell, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 4:54:26 PM

Another article by a hypocrite who self-indulgently despises the means by which she can live her life.

Wind and solar DO NOT WORK; end of story.

Modern society which this author enjoys but can contradictorily dismiss depends on cheap, reliable energy.

Fossils have provided this and will continue to do because of new technology which is making the energy extraction much more efficient and free of REAL pollutants, not just CO2 [see Ultra Supercritical coal technology].

The same with nuclear, absolutely brilliant with the potential of Thorium unlimited.

All this is opposed by green foolishness and self-indulgence, as personified by this witless article.

All that can be said is that if this author and her ilk think nature is so wonderful then they should discard their possessions and lifestyles and live in a cave and leave the rest of us alone.

"Wind and solar DO NOT WORK; end of story."

Sorry Cohenite, but they do!

Large house, 280sqm of living space, normal appliances, fridges, freezer, and lights, wifey's sewing machine, computer (on which I am typing), lights, etc etc, and not connected to the grid.

It is all possible if you have the correct mindset, and yes I acknowledge that the solar panels and wind generator that I use were built using fossil fuels.

I have not received 1c in government assistance to drive my energy needs, I am currently working on an energy device, 4M X 4M (glass house) that produces heat, then transfers this to a fulcrum device and then generates free electricity, to (yes again fossil fuel derived car batteries) turn a number of old car alternators that charge the good old car batteries.

My small scale (1Kw) model works and I hope to generate about 4Kw during daylight hours (mid latitude WA) that will allow me to draw down the 4Kw during the dark hours. Just an experiment to date, but looking good!

All of this is scalable but probably not 100% realistic in an urban environment.

I will let you know how things work out. Also looking at heat transfer from water buried in pipes below 1m to generate heat and attach to the same above device, could be interesting.

As I always say, keep the mind open and don't discount the absurd.

Geoff

Geoff for an odd ball, [& I approve of odd balls], particularly one who likes playing games with stuff like alternate energy it can work. Just one question, how long have you been doing it?

I had 10 years living off the grid, on my yacht. I used the other approach. 12V lights, & many things run by reduced voltage, like my electronic organ radios etc. Then my cooking & refrigeration was by gas.

I tried using wind, a dead loss, & solar, better, but still a problem. I even played with a towed impeller driving an alternator, but found it not only lacking, but useless at anchor.

Yes it was the trusty Honda generator which was least obtrusive into both life & pocket which did most of the work. Diesels, so good on a farm, were just too noisy.

My brother in law, an engineer, also lived off grid for about 8 years. When asked the best thing about his new home on the grid it was a "real phone", not his solar powered satellite outfit, closely followed by no battery banks to have to pay for, & maintain.

So mate, for many the best thing about alternate energy is that it's so good when you stop. As for a means of supplying power to the great unwashed, forget it. They can't afford it, & can't be bothered with it.

Cohenite, please do not accuse me of being a hypocrite. I have lived off the grid, on solar only for over 5 years. We produce our own power, harvest our own water, grow most of our own food and slaughter a steer and lamb a year for the carnivores. We run several businesses from here, have no dramas with power, and are living proof that renewables DO work. Australia is far, far behind the civilized European world who realise that we HAVE to change our reliance on fossil fuels. They have more wind and that works for them, we have more sun - so use it, harvest it, transmute it into the power we need. Solar panels are now so cheap we don't need subsidies, nor does the industry want them but do you know how much we pay the coal companies in subsidies each year? BILLIONS that would be better spent creating a new, sustainable, viable, alternative energy industry.

@Sophie Love

Have you checked your assertions about coal/oil subsidies etc ? Did you know that Obama gave 90 Billion to renewables and only 2 Billion to Oil companies last year?

Sounds like you are a businesswoman making a healthy profit from numerous businesses yet you despise others wish to make a profit.

Nowhere do alternative energies provide baseload power and I'd like to know how many 10s of thousands it cost you to set this up. I'd also like you to say whether you are on the grid or not.

You are a living example of how the great green dream is simply another money making enterprise and such articles are ultimately about promoting a new form of business.