Solar, wind project brings electricity to Navajo homes

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096416502

Solar, wind project brings electricity to Navajo homes

© Indian Country Today January 21, 2008. All Rights Reserved
Posted: January 21, 2008
by: The Associated Press

AP photo/The Daily Times, Lucas Ian Coshenet -- Reno Etcitty and Melvin Duncan, electricians with the Shiprock District of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, tested the amount of power in the solar panel unit outside Denton Blueeyes' home Jan. 4. Blueeyes, who lives about five miles south of Shiprock, N.M., is one of about 350 residents to rent a renewable energy unit from the NTUA.

By Alysa Landry -- The Daily Times

SHIPROCK, N.M. (AP) - The drone of a small wind turbine is the only sound punctuating the stillness five miles south of Shiprock. A few houses dot the horizon, and an occasional car passes by on Navajo Route 36 - the only signs of civilization Denton Blueeyes sees from his home near Chaco Wash.

Blueeyes, 74, grew up on the Navajo Nation, and until two years ago, he never had electricity in his home.

...

Now, Blueeyes is one of about 350 residents to rent a renewable energy unit from the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. At the cost of about $80 per month, Blueeyes and his wife can plug in a television and a lamp.

...

The energy package includes a 10-foot solar panel and a wind turbine that together produce about 2 kilowatts per day - enough to power a small house or double-wide trailer, said Melvin Duncan, an electrician for NTUA's Shiprock District.

...

[phantom power]

1. "2 kilowatts per day" --- arrrrrrrrrgh

:banghead:

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Sure beats 0 kW/day

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096416502

...

'I used to use kerosene lamps for light,'' Blueeyes said. ''Now the lamps are packed away, and I don't have to take them out except in the barn.''

...

[phantom power]

3. my point was, that "kilowatts/day" is a bogus unit.

My best guess is that they meant 2 kilowatt-hours per day. The bad reporting makes my brain hurt. Hardly anybody gets this right, and it's so basic, and so important. It's like trying to talk about cars, and habitually confusing "gallons" with "miles per gallon."

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. You're right (of course)

I suspect you're also correct about the 2 kWh/day.

[MasonJar]

5. Good, the native Indians are supreme in their connection to the earth

and nature.

[diane in sf]

6. This is great, distributed, small-scale stuff--cheaper than hydrocarbons and

non-rechargable battries. One can live pretty decently without all the stuff in a large, suburban crackerbox palace.