[Gasification] SPAM: Re: Documentary of Living Off Grid

[Dan Dimiduk]

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 <tmiles at trmiles.com> wrote:

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