by Alan Stankevitz | Feb 12, 2004
In our last episode, the local electric cooperative gave me an option to give away all of my excess power. Well, that didn’t fly with their lawyer because state law says that I have to sell them my excess power. So, the bottom line given to me a week ago was: If...
by Alan Stankevitz | Feb 3, 2004
The verdict is still out as to what plan the utility company may approve, but it appears as if the non-net-metering approach will be the best of three bad options. (See January, 24 Journal.) If this is true, a configuration to include a battery bank might be a...
by Alan Stankevitz | Feb 1, 2004
Me and my big mouth. A few weeks ago winter hadn’t arrived yet and I opened my big mouth about it and now we’re paying the price. Not only has it been snowing (with a foot or more on its way), but it’s been quite cold. The coldest weather in these...
by Alan Stankevitz | Jan 24, 2004
Effective January 1, 2004, the Minnesota Department of Commerce in cooperation with Xcel Energy (we are not part of their grid down here in the SE corner of MN) have extended the solar rebate program across the entire state.The rebate program is funded by Xcel...
by Alan Stankevitz | Jan 13, 2004
In the past week dire predictions have been made by scientists (Nature 427 , 107 – 109 ) regarding global warming and the mass extinction of life upon this planet. Predictions of 1 out of every 10 species of plants and animals may die off by 2050—That’s...
by Alan Stankevitz | Dec 23, 2003
It’s been a while since I last wrote and well, there has been a lot of things going on other than working on the house. After Thanksgiving, I spent a couple of weeks at the house making holiday gifts for family and friends. The house has quite a bit of open...
