With the exception of geo-thermal and nuclear power, all of the earth's energy is derived from the sun. As the price of oil goes up and the environmental damage from coal burning increases, the cost per watt of electricity produced by photovoltaic cells is becoming a financially wise choice, not just a smart environmental one. According to Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook, using the solar cell technology available today, we could supply the nation's electrical needs by setting up solar panels on 12,000 square miles in the State of Nevada. That sounds like a large area but it represents only 12% of the state.

One of the most common and cost-effective ways to incorporate solar panels is in a grid-tie system. Commercial power is connected to the home in the usual way but solar panels are added to the system and generate electricity during the day. Any of the solar electricity that is generated during the day and is not utilized by the home flows back to the power company and is "banked" or stored and then utilized at night when the solar panels cease generating electricity. The power at La Boca Vista will be an "Off the Grid" system, which means that commercial power is not utilized and only electricity that can be generated by the sun or the wind will be available. The estimate from the power company to set poles and run power lines to the property was $18,000 which made the decision to go off-grid a no brainer. In this situation we need to generate enough energy during the day to take care of our electrical needs both day and night. This is accomplished with a bank of batteries that are charged during the day and give back that stored energy at night. We are also incorporating a small wind generator which can produce a max of 400 watts of electricity anytime that the wind is blowing. Our Off-Grid System includes the following components;

8 - 165 Watt PV Panels
1 - 400 Watt Wind Turbine
8 - Deep Cycle Storage Batteries
1 - Charge Controller
1 - 24v, 2500 Watt Inverter