With apologies for dual postings:
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. - This winter's unusually cold weather has
created snarls around the nation. Here in Appalachia, a fierce December storm
knocked out power to nearly 400,000 people and cost more than $60 million to
clean up. Not everyone lost electricity, however, because some weren't connected
to the power grid in the first place.
Mary Wildfire lives with her
husband in a house they built outside Spencer in Roane County. They run their
lights, computers, appliances and the pump for their well on eight solar panels
located in their front yard.
"Our immediate neighbors were out of power
for a week; they got it back Christmas Eve. And we did really pretty well,
because there were some partly sunny days."
She says the solar panels
actually work better when it snows, because of the amount of light they
get.
Wildfire admits that anyone who heats with wood or generates their
own electricity loses a lot in terms of convenience. In her household, they have
to pay attention to how much power they use and how much sun they get, but it's
part of a lifestyle that has advantages, despite the trade-offs.
"We had
to check whether we had wood in the shed, whether we were using too much power
for how much light we'd gotten lately, but then to live on the grid we'd have to
have, probably, full-time jobs."
Wildfire admits the system was expensive
to install, at about $4,000 after tax breaks. But she says they're counting on
it lasting for decades.
Dan Heyman, Public News Service - WV