All you need to go off-grid

OFG-HowToFreeYourself.svg
Search
Sign in / Sign up

california

Tesla plans its first off-grid community

Tesla is planning  to take a 1,400-acre community in Mexico completely off-grid.

The first-of-its-kind energy solution at the Twin Dolphin community in Los Cabos, will see Tesla supply batteries and power management for a private residential community and club, Montage Los Cabos resort and residences, and Twin Dolphin Club.  A similar setup will be implemented next fall in Sonoma County, California.

The initiative at Twin Dolphin will leverage Tesla’s fully integrated solar panels and battery energy storage and software systems to provide reliable renewable energy for the entire community, which developer Ohana claims has received government approvals and is currently underway.

The Tesla project will generate over 20 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year. The project consists of a central ground-mount site spanning over 22 acres, located adjacent to Twin Dolphin’s already existing reverse osmosis and desalination plant that provides potable water to the community. Tesla Powerhub, a data platform to monitor energy use, is incorporated into the project to use real-time and historical data tracking to optimize its energy usage, improve performance, and help inform future decisions.

The new systems will provide all the energy for Twin Dolphin, and also generate clean back-up power for the wider community.  The  system will run completely off-grid if needed, in the event of power outages due to storms or natural disasters. The back-up power supply can also feed into the local power grid as the Baja region of Mexico, which has experienced energy shortages with increased development.

“We are excited to see our vision of being the first off-the-grid community in Cabo coming to life. We are grateful for the partnership and engagement of Tesla and their technologies, which have made this possible. Our larger vision is that other premier master plan community developers will follow our lead and implement similar projects so that collectively we can help preserve our environment,” says Chris Smith, CEO of Ohana Real Estate Investors.

This new solar initiative complements sustainability initiatives at Twin Dolphin, including the preservation of over 40,000 native plants during the development of the property maintained by its water plant, conserving energy through building design that maximizes natural cooling, utilizing locally sourced building materials, implementing tankless water heaters in all buildings and using LED lights throughout the property.…

Read More »
September 27, 2020 3 Comments
Land

PG&E’s cunning wildfire plan – shut down the Grid

Power company PG&E has long been known as a company that puts its shareholders interests ahead of its customers – shady billing practices, low quality maintenance are just a couple of the company’s bad practices.

Now it has gone a step further with a plan to punish its 15 million Californian customers in the event of wildfires this summer.

When high winds arise this year, the utility says it will black out fire-prone areas that are home to 5.4 million people.

That’s right – instead of working 24/7 to prevent its power lines from sparking the kinds of wildfires that have killed scores of Californians. it plans to pull the plug on a giant swath of the state’s population.

No U.S. utility has ever blacked out so many people on purpose. PG&E says it could knock out power to as much as an eighth of the state’s population for as long as five days when dangerously high winds arise. Communities likely to get shut off worry PG&E will put people in danger, especially the sick and elderly, and cause financial losses with slim hope of compensation.

In October, in a test run of sorts, PG&E for the first time cut power to several small communities over wildfire concerns, including the small Napa Valley town of Calistoga, for about two days. Emergency officials raced door-to-door to check on elderly residents, some of whom relied on electric medical devices. Grocers dumped spoiling inventory. Hotels lost business.

PG&E is “essentially shifting all of the burden, all of the losses onto everyone else,” said Dylan Feik, who was Calistoga city manager until earlier this month.

By shutting off power in fire-prone parts of its service area, which are home to 5.4 million people, PG&E said in regulatory filings it hopes to prevent more deadly wildfires. The San Francisco-based company sought bankruptcy protection in January, citing more than $30 billion in potential damages from fires linked to its equipment.

This plan amounts to an admission by PG&E that it can’t always fulfill its basic job of delivering electricity both safely and reliably. Years of drought and a drying climate have turned the state’s northern forests into a tinderbox, and the utility has failed to make needed investments to make its grid sturdier.

During this year’s wildfire season, which typically starts around June, PG&E is preparing to make cutoffs to a far larger geographic region than it has targeted for blackouts in the past, increasing the number of potentially affected customers nearly 10-fold. While it is unlikely all areas would be affected at once, the outages may turn entire counties dark.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What should utilities do to protect people from wildfires? Make your comments below.

The company said it is attempting to figure out how to avoid stranding medically vulnerable residents and is working with local authorities to try to ensure water, traffic …

Read More »
April 28, 2019 1 Comment
Controlled CA blaze creates windbreak against wildfire
Land

Adapt your home to survive a wildfire

Devastation caused by the recent wildfire outbreak in California reminds those living off-grid to maintain awareness of fire safety. Especially those who live in rural or isolated areas of forestry, writes Levon Barkhordarian.

As it stands the wildfires have forced an estimated 90,000 people to move, destroying more than 5,700 business and homes as well as killing over 40 people. The death toll is expected to rise once the inferno comes to an end, allowing emergency crews to navigate the unpredictable terrain and recover victims.

“The emergency is not over, and we continue to work at it, but we are seeing some great progress,” said California emergency operations director, Mark Ghilarducci. More than 9,000 firefighters are currently fighting the blaze with helicopters, air tankers, and 1,000 fire engines. The director of the California Department of forestry and fire protection, Ken Pimlott described the spread of fires as “a serious, critical, catastrophic event”.

With this in mind, how can businesses, communities and off-grid inhabitants hope to limit the damage caused by the current wildfires and the inevitable fires of the foreseeable future?

There are relatively simple precautionary steps you and your neighbours can adopt to protect your family’s land and property.

 

Use these examples to protect your property.

 

  • If your property is located near other buildings or you have neighbours close to your land you should discuss plans for collectively tackling fire safety in your area. Creating contingency plans and working together as a team in remote areas can drastically increase your protection.
  • Small trees, dead trees and ground fuels such as pine needles and leaves should be cleared from around your property creating at least a 30 to a 100-meter radius of cleared space. Dry leaf litter and debris will significantly increase the chances of fire spreading. So, it is extremely important that you create a clearing around your property to minimise this effect.
  • Next, you should prune and cut large tree branches to a height of 10 feet. This inhibits a fires ability to crawl up the trunk of a tree to reach its canopy. If you have conifer trees on your property or other species which you don’t want to discard it is at least worthwhile thinning their branches and crowns to create a partition 10 feet or more apart. This stops the fire from migrating from tree to tree.
  • It is a misconception that grassy lawns increase the spread of wildfire, in fact as long as you keep your gardens well-watered and maintain a short length to your grass it should act as a fire breaker. However, it is imperative that you take the time to keep your grass lush and well hydrated.

Extra ways of keeping your property safe from wildfires.

  • A major reason so many houses burn down completely is that emergency services such as fire departments find it difficult
…
Read More »
October 15, 2017 No Comments

Park City commits to 100% renewable

 

Park City, Utah is the latest American city to pledge to turn to 100% renewable energy (you can view the whole list here). The promise was made under the 100% Committed Campaign and Park City has set 2032 as its deadline. Boulder, Colorado, San Francisco and San Diego, California, Georgetown, Texas Grand Rapids, Michigan and others have already committed to the cause.

This is great news, but why has it taken them so long? The campaign seems to have emerged as an attempt to push local councils toward sustainable energy, as climate change becomes a leading issue in national politics.

Last month, in September, when Boulder announced its commitment, Mayor Suzanne Jones, took to the mic to state that: “[It] is increasingly clear that Congress is not going to address climate change; cities like Boulder need to take the lead.”

Mayor Jack Thomas pushed a similar messaged in Utah and urged other cities to follow suit: “Park City’s commitment for 100% renewable electricity is driven by our community” he said. “The passion for the natural environment and our responsibility to take care of it is part of the fabric of what makes Park City a very special place to live. Park City can’t do it alone.”

Mountain communities have proudly pledged to change their energy source as they understand the risk they face if global warming is allowed to continue at the rate that it is at. “Park City recognizes that without snow, they cannot grow,” Talya Tavor, I AM PRO SNOW program manager, said. “At Climate Reality we bring together the passion to fight climate change with the passion to protect our mountain communities to make an unstoppable force for change. That’s why it is no surprise that mountain cities are leading the way on renewable electricity.

But that’s not all, national businesses like Ski Butlers, Ikea, Adobe, Facebook Apple and more (full list) have made the commitment to switch to 100 percent renewable electricity, under the RE100 plan to get the world’s most influential companies committed to 100% renewable power.

This  shows that business and government leaders recognize the urgent need to address the very real issue of climate change, and it also shows that practical solutions are actually being put in place to do so.…

Read More »
October 28, 2016 2 Comments
Community

California Gov, Jerry Brown – Off-Grid

 

Environmental champion, Jerry Brown says his next home will be totally off the grid. Powered by solar panels, the 2,674 square feet abode will include one-bedroom, one and a half bathrooms, a large lounge area, wood fireplace, an office, a mud room and a massive porch to sit on and watch the world go round.

 

Architect Dna Hoover describes it as a “boomerang-shaped building that kind of curls around a little knoll with two really old blue oak trees.” The site will afford the Browns “a pretty incredible view that’s quintessential California landscape. It’s incredibly beautiful but harsh in the same way,” he said.


Usually, Gov. Brown spends weekends at a rustic cabin west of Williams and resides the rest of the time in the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento, which is an energy sufficient property. He has described his cabin outside Williams in 2014 as “pretty primitive,” with no water or toilet. He said at the time that the first lady “would like more amenities.” Hence the fancy soaking tub and wood fireplace in the new home.

Aged 78, Brown is the state’s oldest and longest-serving chief executive and was first elected to a statewide office in 1970 and is set to govern until 2019. He is also a pro-environment fiscal conservative and is a longtime champion for environmental causes, so it’s surprising he’s realised that going off-grid is the way forward!

According to plans for the house, “landscaping shall be designed and installed so as to not use potable water.”

The fourth-term Democrat and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, sold their previous home in Oakland Hills this year, after giving up their Sacramento loft and moving into the renovated Governor’s Mansion. Brown will term out of office in 2019.

Hoover said he will start working on the solar panelled palace as soon as he gets a permit. “(Brown) wants it done now,” Hoover said. “They’re very anxious to move up here.”

We’re excited for you to move off-grid too, Jerry!…

Read More »
September 20, 2016 No Comments
Airbnb, holiday let, vacation rental, tree house, offthegridnews
Community

Airbnb’s hottest properties – yes, they are off-grid

Airbnb has just released it’s 10 most wished-for properties on the vacation web site. Quirky, unique properties are most in demand. Four out of the ten properties are tree-houses and three of those are located in California.

The top ten roundup of wish-listed abodes on the property site shows that quirky, unorthodox residences are the places where most people wish to stay.

From a secluded treehouse with rope bridge in the woods of Atlanta, Georgia to a ‘seashell’ house in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’-themed guest house in Topanga Canyon, California, the properties that were the most popular were strange and fanciful.

It is also number one on the site’s list of most popular property types. This author has his own https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/2589762″ target=”_blank”off-grid property on Airbnb – in Majorca Spain – Check it out here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/2589762″https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/2589762
The U.S. was the most represented country on the list, with three of the four properties represented in California.
The second most popular destination was Italy, with three locations in the top ten. Mexico, Canada, and Bali rounded out the list.

PICK OF THE OFF GRID PLACES

No. 10: ($380 per night) This off-the-grid solar-powered house in the high desert of Pioneertown, California does have heat, hot water, and a washer, but of course no TV or Internet – Joshua Tree National Park is nearby

No. 8: ($76 per night) This ‘mushroom villa’ as the locals in Bali call it, comes with a beautifully lit private swimming pool with ocean view and garden where you are free to pick your own fruit and veranda where you can watch the sunrise – there’s a hot water shower and Wifi spot

No. 7: A Pirates of the Caribbean themed tropical guest house contains a deck with a teepee for lounging (not overnight sleeping!) N($95 per night/two nights minimum/$225 for one night)Guest house contains a Jacuzzi and BBQ fire pit – the property contains waterfalls and ponds.

No. 6: ($110 per night) A mushroom shaped dome cabin in in Aptos, California is called a ‘geodesic dome loft’ and it has a large outdoor deck shaded by oak and madrone trees and abutting a redwood grove on ten acres of prime forest chiming with birds – there’s also a nearby beach – there’s a flatscreen TV with DVD player but no television reception

No. 5: ($157 per night) Another treehouse, this time in San Salvatore Monferrato, Alessandria, Italy – it contains one bedroom, one bathroom, a garden solarium and swimming pool on the property – and a cat

No. 4: ($100 per night) This unique cob cottage in Mayne Island, British Columbia is sculpted of local, sustainable natural materials – guests have access to all of the surrounding lush property, including the small private vineyard

No. 3: ($281 per night) This glass paneled treehouse in Tuscany, Italy is only only twenty minutes’ …

Read More »
January 17, 2016 No Comments
Community

Daryl Hannah reveals second off-grid home

Hollywood icon Daryl Hannah is already a poster girl for the off-grid revolution. The interview she gave www.off-grid.net in 2005 made her Colorado staging post the world’s most famous off-grid address.

Now Hannah has revealed she has a second off the grid property, this one in California.

Hannah told an obscure Santa Cruz community TV station that she lives  in a solar-powered Southern California farm she refers to as “misfit circus,” home to abandoned and disabled animals.

She arrived at the studio in her 1979 Pontiac Trans Am she drove in ‘Kill Bill.’ The actress and environmental activist appeared live with local ecologist David Blume on Community TV’s live call-in show “Eco-Review” to promote ethanol as an alternative energy source.

Here is footage of Hannah showing us round her protest tent at The Farm.…

Read More »
March 24, 2010 6 Comments

Solar Power in California

There are over 11,000 officially registered homes with solar power in California, up from 900 in 2002. There are many more in the backwoods and small towns. Now the California Environmental Protection agency is trying to add solar power to a million houses in the next decade. And what California does today, the world does tomorrow.…

Read More »
August 6, 2004 1 Comment