Praying for Clearer Skies

The meter now runs both ways.
For all the good it's doing us today.  But I digress.

Last week the contractors tightened the last bolt on the solar array that has been under construction out behind the chicken yard since Thanksgiving.  Generally speaking, sustainability has been a guiding value for our little farmstead since we moved here three years ago.  We avoid artificial inputs in the garden, opting instead for organic and natural nourishment I concoct from bags of plant and bone meals, and the generously shared alpaca manure from next door.  That, and the bags of organically generated compost I order in from Wisconsin.  The chickens are fed a premium organic feed ground by a mill a couple of hours away.  And, of course, we eat what we produce.

So the solar system is a logical extension of that value.  Technically speaking it is a "photo voltaic" system.  Still more technically speaking it is a 26-panel, 280 watt SolarWorld mono modules with 26-Enphase M250 micro inverters.  Which is really more than anyone wants to know.  What inquiring minds want to know is, "what the heck is it for?"

It is not the plan that we will be migrating "off the grid," but it is our hope that the system will generate all or most of the electricity needed to supply our house.  Sometimes even more.  That's where the bi-directional electrical meter comes in.  At the beginning of this process we signed an agreement with the power company through which we will be credited on those days when we produce more electricity than we need.  Our own little energy savings account, so to speak.  Our fancy new meter makes that possible -- measuring the electricity that we need to buy, but now also measuring the electricity we get to return.

Which, as I indicated before, is not getting much practice these days.  Saturday night through Sunday morning the heavens blessed us with a foot of snow that completely covered the panels.  Yesterday afternoon I finally assembled the necessary gizmos to squeegee the panels clean, just in time for sunset.  And today, of course, it is snowing all over again -- a couple of inches so far -- so I'll need to do it all over again.

On the off-chance the sun is able to break through.

One of these days.

In the meantime I'll just admire that vast expanse of tempered glass, and savor this next expression of partnership with the world around us...

...or in this case, above us.  And pray for clearer skies.