One of the world’s biggest solar power collectors is being built next to the tiny town of Nipton, Calif., which is ironic because Nipton is the closet thing to an off-grid town – with 85 per cent of its energy coming from a set of solar panels installed by one of its 60 residents. Gerald Freeman unlocks the gate to the small power plant and goes inside. Three rows of solar collectors, elevated on troughs that track the sun’s arc like sunflowers, afford a glimpse of California’s possible energy future. This facility and a smaller version across the road produce almost all of the power required by Nipton’s 60 residents, its general store and motel. Freeman, a Caltech-trained geologist and one-time gold mine…
Article by Living Off the Grid: Free Yourself. Read entire story here.
