Posts by — Treetopsjen

A wind energy company has left a trail of disappointed customers in Northeast Iowa and beyond .  Customers say the turbines cost far more than they’ve saved in power bills.  More than a dozen grain and livestock producers which bought the turbines to cut energy costs and help the environment have had nothing but problems. The company that sold them — Earth Linked Energy Solutions of Story City is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

The windmills, according to some owners, are beset with mechanical problems and often sit idle — sometimes for months at a time. Other Earth Linked customers say turbines aren’t as productive as company officials led them to believe. One producer said Earth Linked promised government aid to help pay for the project that never materialized. (more…)

Jenny takes a trip

Oki doki folks! Jenny here. Hello out there once more!

Continuing on from my previous article, which can be found here, I shall now home in on some finer details beginning with choice of van, and energy sources, both for powering the van and for power in the van.

Van:  I already discussed in the pre-mentioned article my reasons for choosing a van/minibus to live off-grid in…..but now how do I go about deciding, which van (from this point forward meaning minibus as well as van) to use? Does it matter? Well, from my research I have learnt that yes, indeed it does matter! Especially if, like me, one hopes to use USVO (Used Straight Vegetable Oil) as the fuel – more on USVO specifically in a moment.

(more…)

Treetop Jen has returned home to the UK, and now she is wondering how to reshape her life.

"I want to be free"

Aim: to live off-grid in the back of  a minibus, simply parked in a  ’normal’ town, with a job in the charity sector, still part of  ’normal’ society.

WHY? Hmmm…where to begin?

Well – like most people, I have spent some of my time in life pondering on the future; imagining how my life may turn out & how I might feel in each of the imagined outcomes.

I also spent (& still spend) time observing my others’ lives around me as they currently are. These two activities left me less & less inclined to live in an ‘ordinary’ house with a mortgage & equally less willing to rent accommodation; (more…)