Dan,
Thank you for telling the story. We hear a lot of ways that agencies discourage independent living whether it is on or off the grid. We certainly have a collection of resourceful people on this list! Tom From: Gasification [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dan Dimiduk Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2015 1:57 AM To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification Subject: SPAM: Re: [Gasification] SPAM: Re: Documentary of Living Off Grid Tom, as you know I've always been interested in sustainable living. When I first leased this land, I looked into getting my temporary power pole hooked up. For a transformer and 100 amp temporary line drop to MY pole, I installed, it was going to cost : $1200 up front, 11cents per kWh.,and a minimum bill of $15 per month. This is through First Energy. They are calling my farm a business and stated how they were paying 2/3 of the transformer installation fee. Add to that, I'd have to submit a lot building plan to get a zoning permit to get a temporary electric permit. So much for the experimental farm concept with movable modular construction. I didnt even have a solid driveway on a swamp at the time. Why did I need $15/ Month power bill? I took my money and went to Harbor Freight. Got a 3400 watt generator and a 45 watt solar panel kit, and a 750 watt invertor and never looked back. Recently, my electric pump for the hand dug irrigation well blew a seal so I switched to a cheap gasoline pump for convenience. 4 years later, I have yet to spend near the $1200. Being on land zoned agriculture, any temporary structure used for agriculture is exempt from building permits. When I moved in I received a variance for having a gravel driveway. The zoning requires a paved 100/ft. driveway which would have cost as much as the swamp land. The ruling was unanimous when I showed the soil report and soil samples of a wet, unstable, sand and gravel base. I have a letter stating my greenhouse zoning is approved but I stopped short of submitting a lot plan and getting the actual permit. By not hooking to the grid I've kept just out of reach of city jurisdiction. That is exactly where I intend to stay. All of my structures will have small modular solar power supplies. The micro grid will be set up to connect them when I need a lot of power in one place. Every modular structure will have an agriculture justification. For example: blacksmith shop, wood shed, greenhouse, pumphouse, tool storage, machine shop, and so on. The wood shed can be used in the summer as a picnic shelter ;-) The land is 1 mile from the interstate and if rezoned business would be worth quite a bit more but none of the neighbors want that. Dan Dimiduk. Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID Tom Miles <[email protected]> wrote: Thanks Dan. I have heard that in some states it is difficult to live off grid if the grid is available. Tom From: Gasification [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dan Dimiduk Sent: Monday, November 02, 2015 4:47 PM To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification Subject: SPAM: Re: [Gasification] Documentary of Living Off Grid I'm just starting down that road. After a forced business move, 6 years of deep recession, and a 3 year recovery from West Nile Encephalitis, things are coming together slowly. I closed on the 4 year lease purchase of my 5 acre mini farm in September. Now that I own the land and normal business has resumed, things are looking up. My goal is to build an off grid intensive farm/ landscape nursery operation with greenhouses and maintenance facilities, while protecting the sensitive headwater Fen ( swamp) I'm located on. More info will follow as things come together. Dan Dimiduk. Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID Tom Miles <[email protected]> wrote: A friend works for a company that is working on an international documentary about people who live off the grid. They are looking for candidates or communities they can interview. Please send me recommendations for individual or communities who have been successful at living off the grid. I suspect that many use a combination of technologies for generating off grid power including solar, wind, biogas, gasification, and diesel gensets. Thanks Tom [email protected]
_______________________________________________ Gasification mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/gasification_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Gasifiers, News and Information see our web site: http://gasifiers.bioenergylists.org/
