JUICE: Sustainability Country

Last weekend, I traveled the long and winding road to California’s redwood country to celebrate my daughter’s graduation from Humboldt State University. There, since the 1980s, students have taken a graduation pledge to work toward a sustainable economy in the walk of life.

Later, over dinner of grilled Alaskan halibut and salmon, organic grain and vegetables at a coastal house under deep green redwoods in Trinidad, I met a group of parents who were taking dramatic steps toward sustainability in their own businesses and lives.

Among them, was an Alaskan sport fishing outfitter who powers his company—including its nine large refrigerators—with solar panels completely off the grid. As he grilled fish, we discussed the great potential for renewable energy in the U.S. of which he is living proof.

A farmer from Lancaster in Los Angeles County told me he practices organic agriculture and sells food directly at local farmers’ markets out of concern for health. He went on to share his hope of installing a wind turbine to pump well water for his farm rather than relying on the grid.

Earlier, on the way up to Humboldt, I talked to a solar expert at the Solar Living Center in Hopland who lives off the grid with his family and provides solar power systems for music festivals.

They all stressed that it’s not expensive or difficult to live off the grid because the necessary technology is simple and has been around for decades.

All these folks told me that just about anybody can set up and maintain a small-scale renewable energy system with a manual and bit of help from a skilled electrician.

In fact, the guy at the Solar Living Center showed me a battery storage system—that works in conjunction with rooftop panels—big enough to meet basic needs in a modest-sized house. The storage system costs about $1,500 and supplies enough power to run a modest-sized or energy efficient refrigerator, lighting, and electronics, but granted, not air conditioning or heating.

Another thing they all agreed on is that government policies needlessly complicate and raise the expense of off-grid living.

The organic farmer, for instance, found that at the urging of a county supervisor—who seems to have been in office as long as I can remember—the public notification area for someone who wants to erect a wind tower was recently modified from a few hundred feet beyond the property line to a mile.

Consequently, he’s fighting a neighbor almost a mile away who objects to his plan to make his own renewable power on the basis of visual impact. Yes, the tower would be 84 feet tall, but it’s in a rural area and still isn’t as tall as the 200 foot transmission line towers Southern California Edison is putting in right over people’s backyards in Duarte and Ontario, something allowed under state policy.

The fellow at the Solar Living Center lamented that the average grid connected homeowner simply can’t install the technology needed to take full advantage of solar power during blackouts on a grid-connected system. The reason I got when I installed my own system is that back-feed from solar panels could injure utility workers repairing lines in the neighborhood.

I left thinking I should set up another grid-independent backup solar system on my garage roof to meet basic power needs during an outage when I won’t be able to rely on my existing net-metered system. The other alternative is a gasoline or propane generator, with all its noise and fumes. They flew off the shelves here during the big blackout in Southern California in the wake of the 2011 windstorm.

Upon returning to the bright lights and rush of traffic in Los Angeles, I realized that most folks don’t yet have the time or interest in moving off the grid. But, momentum is building in more than nooks and crannies around the state, propelled by climate change concerns, growing awareness of renewable options, and higher utility bills.

What I learned in redwood country lingered while driving down the freeway on the final stretch home. It brought to mind a Rocky Mountain Institute study last year showing that needless complications in government policy and installation procedures raise the cost of rooftop solar in the U.S. by as much as 70 percent (Current, July 18, 2014).

So just like the parents and graduates at Humboldt State, policy makers need to reexamine policies from the local to state level to meaningfully integrate sustainability into the utility business. —William J. Kelly