To sell a house one has to have a "White Slip" Most properties oweners will never have heard the term but it's usally disclosed during the escrow or sale. The white slip is an acknoldgement that the house is on a legal lot, and has water, wastewater, and electricity. The wastewater can be a septic system and the water can be a well. I don't think the law has changed to allow the electricty to be self produced. That's still up in the air.
The way that infrastructure is paid for varries significally from state to state, and even from company to company. We do not have stated owned utilities.
As for waste water, I have seen 2 models. One is a fixed fee to be connected the other is a variable fee based on water use. Most utlities try to base the waste water charge based on a indoor water use. They base the charge on water use during the rainy season.
Electricity can charge for infrastructe directly or as a percent of usage. I have seen bills both ways.

There are wind turbines sprouting out of corn and soybean fields all over Illinois. Driving at night, you can see the red warning lights on top of them for miles around. It's amazing to see all these little red dots of light, all blinking in slow unison. Only once did I see one that was out of sync with the rest. And every one of them has been assigned a street address.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

I sort of live in the middle of them right now.



And that is not all of them in this area.

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I sort of live in the middle of them right now.



And that is not all of them in this area.

We don't have hills like that here.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Tell me about it. I thought those eggbeaters where neat, then I found out about the cost to wildlife.

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Pluto will always be a planet to me.

Seti Ambassador
Not to late to order an Anni Shirt

Tell me about it. I thought those eggbeaters where neat, then I found out about the cost to wildlife.

I should think that some of the attrition of birds due to wind power generation would be somewhat offset by the benefits of reducing the coal powered electricity generation that they replace. Better air quality has to be better for birds too.

And as usual, those who are making an issue of it do not take into account the benefit side of the equation.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

In my case, the city owns the water, sewer and electrical utilities.

Water used to come from city-owned wells, but now it comes from Lake Michigan. The city of Chicago pumps and filters it, and charged an arm and a leg for it. It is transported through a pipeline owned by the county, which also charges an arm and a leg to pay for the construction bonds. And it is distributed by the city, which claims it's charging the absolute minimum it can without losing money on maintenance. The charges are based on metered usage.

Sewer is also charged based on the water used.

Electricity is also charged on usage. The city buys it wholesale (some towns have their own generating stations in addition to buying wholesale; in others, customers are served directly by the commercial utility company). They used to get it directly from the local utility, Commonwealth Edison, but now they shop around.

My gas utility, Nicor, tells you on each month's bill the wholesale price they pay for the gas you used and charges you for it at cost. They also have a delivery fee based on your usage, from which they pay for maintenance and make their profit.

Chicago used to supply water to its residents for a flat annual fee, based on the number of water consuming fixtures in the house: $X per sink, toilet, and even outdoor spigot. Many houses didn't even have water meters in them. A few years ago, they decided charging for actual water used was more fair. Then they decided that raising the rates was better than raising property taxes. Those rates include what they charge suburbs they supply, so my water bill is helping pay for Chicago's deficit.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Older mobile home parks are unique. I own one in Palmdale. The water is from a well on site and we had septic, but connected to the public waste water system a couple of years ago. It's operated as a non-profit. Every penny paid as rent goes right back into it. Even it's administrative expenses are absorbed by other market rate rentals. Tenants pay rent and water to the park. Everything else is paid to the provider.

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This park is 8 acres in size(which technically has 88 spaces and is accepting privately owned mobile homes($215 space rent a month for privately owned mobile homes only, higher for parked owned mobile homes) and is renting out empty mobile homes) and is close to the i15 and the i40 fwys, but is 12 miles from real shopping and such, here it's fast food(Jack in the Box, Dairy Queen and Subway), gas/truck stop, 2 diners(Pennys & Peggy Sues), a motel, a bar, some shopping, an auto repair place(just started up in the last year, that's rare in Yermo, a new business), the Post Office, a small grocery store, 2 military bases and a used furniture store.

Almost identical to the one I have. The one I have is full and rent is a little higher. When I got it there was nothing for miles. Now there are homes all around it. It was actually given to me on the condition that I keep operating it as a non-profit for at least 10 years. The 10 are up but it's still a non-profit.

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Tell me about it. I thought those eggbeaters where neat, then I found out about the cost to wildlife.

I should think that some of the attrition of birds due to wind power generation would be somewhat offset by the benefits of reducing the coal powered electricity generation that they replace. Better air quality has to be better for birds too.

And as usual, those who are making an issue of it do not take into account the benefit side of the equation.

There are costs to everything. The solar panels we put on our house this spring will eventually end up in the landfill when their life expectancy runs out. Energy was expended in their creation as well.

When a common bird, such as a starling, dies in a wind farm accident, the cost, sadly, is not just "one bird". The rotting carcass underneath is an invitation to scavengers, like rats. Rats then attract raptors, who are far less common than starlings. The raptor then dies, the rat population flourishes and the vicious cycle continues.

I am not against wind-farms. I just think that the wild-life costs need to be factored in in determining where and how many wind farms should be built.

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Tell me about it. I thought those eggbeaters where neat, then I found out about the cost to wildlife.

I should think that some of the attrition of birds due to wind power generation would be somewhat offset by the benefits of reducing the coal powered electricity generation that they replace. Better air quality has to be better for birds too.

And as usual, those who are making an issue of it do not take into account the benefit side of the equation.

There are costs to everything. The solar panels we put on our house this spring will eventually end up in the landfill when their life expectancy runs out. Energy was expended in their creation as well.

When a common bird, such as a starling, dies in a wind farm accident, the cost, sadly, is not just "one bird". The rotting carcass underneath is an invitation to scavengers, like rats. Rats then attract raptors, who are far less common than starlings. The raptor then dies, the rat population flourishes and the vicious cycle continues.

I am not against wind-farms. I just think that the wild-life costs need to be factored in in determining where and how many wind farms should be built.

Noooo, do not throw the pannels away. Almost everything in them can and should be recycled. Some pannels have some nasty suff in them too. The recycling should be included in your purchase agreement. Our pannels (First Solar) all have an 800 number to call and they will be picked up.

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Noooo, do not throw the pannels away. Almost everything in them can and should be recycled. Some pannels have some nasty suff in them too. The recycling should be included in your purchase agreement. Our pannels (First Solar) all have an 800 number to call and they will be picked up.

I will check our contract.

Frankly, by the time our panels need recylcing I imagine people will be mining our landfills for for all sorts of treasures.

Carlos, some day your grandchildren are going to look you in the eye and say "Grandpa, you BURNT petroleum???!!! You just stuck it in your "car" and burned it all up???!!! We really could have used that now for making plastics. Dang."

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Noooo, do not throw the pannels away. Almost everything in them can and should be recycled. Some pannels have some nasty suff in them too. The recycling should be included in your purchase agreement. Our pannels (First Solar) all have an 800 number to call and they will be picked up.

I will check our contract.

Frankly, by the time our panels need recylcing I imagine people will be mining our landfills for for all sorts of treasures.

Carlos, some day your grandchildren are going to look you in the eye and say "Grandpa, you BURNT petroleum???!!! You just stuck it in your "car" and burned it all up???!!! We really could have used that now for making plastics. Dang."

In B5 Garibaldi was restoreing a motorcycle. Lennier walks in and is incredious when he finds out that it burns petroleum. In the end Lennier completed the restoration with a clean Minbari power source. Yes the future is written on this issue. Even now there is legislation that has been proposed SB-350 that would require 50% of all Cars registered in CA to be electrict by 2030. Not sure if that will pass but keeping an eye on it.

Even now I drive a little TDI Audi. If i drive conservaatively it will give me over 60 mpg on a gallon of diesel.

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I am racking up my creds before Skynet figures out what I am doing.
One day soon, bolt is gonna be sent my way to take all the rigs out.

And this is not just conjecture, this is fact.

Skynet don't like any rouge networks in it's path.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

...Even now there is legislation that has been proposed that would require 50% of all Cars registered in CA to be electrict by 2020. Not sure if that will pass but keeping an eye on it.

Again, all power comes at a cost. I am not against electric cars. Eric and I both drive hybrids. But when you say "electric cars" I have to comment that not all electricity is created equal. Would it help to have an electric car, and plug it in all night, if the electricity in one's area was supplied by a coal burning plant??? Hydro-electric power certainly comes at an environmental cost. Nuclear energy comes with environmental risks.

Eric and I pride ourselves in being green. We recycle. We conserve. We eat lots of vegetarian meals. We support environmental causes. We drive hybirds. Our roof now has solar panels all over it. But the greenest thing we have ever done in our lives is not reproduce ourselves.

It is my hope that every measure we take to walk lightly on this earth is made in step with attempts to slow, control and ultimately reduce our species' over-population of planet Earth through efforts to eradicate poverty and educate women.

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I'd love a used, yet modern VW Bug TDI(47mpg I've heard, better than My 30mpg), just as long as the tranny is an automatic and there is no blasted sun roof, still I have a 16yr old car that passed smog today, as it has done since 2008, a Ford Escort zx2 Sport Hot Coupe, it just keeps on ticking...

What's wrong with a sun roof? I have one and it has never given me a problem. I hardly ever use it, but that's another matter.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

I'd love a used, yet modern VW Bug TDI(47mpg I've heard, better than My 30mpg), just as long as the tranny is an automatic and there is no blasted sun roof, still I have a 16yr old car that passed smog today, as it has done since 2008, a Ford Escort zx2 Sport Hot Coupe, it just keeps on ticking...

What's wrong with a sun roof? I have one and it has never given me a problem. I hardly ever use it, but that's another matter.

I live in a hot, sunny desert, black seats get very hot in the sun here, that's why.

Isn't there an inside panel to block out the sun when it's closed?

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

...Even now there is legislation that has been proposed that would require 50% of all Cars registered in CA to be electrict by 2020. Not sure if that will pass but keeping an eye on it.

Again, all power comes at a cost. I am not against electric cars. Eric and I both drive hybrids. But when you say "electric cars" I have to comment that not all electricity is created equal. Would it help to have an electric car, and plug it in all night, if the electricity in one's area was supplied by a coal burning plant??? Hydro-electric power certainly comes at an environmental cost. Nuclear energy comes with environmental risks.

Eric and I pride ourselves in being green. We recycle. We conserve. We eat lots of vegetarian meals. We support environmental causes. We drive hybirds. Our roof now has solar panels all over it. But the greenest thing we have ever done in our lives is not reproduce ourselves.

It is my hope that every measure we take to walk lightly on this earth is made in step with attempts to slow, control and ultimately reduce our species' over-population of planet Earth through efforts to eradicate poverty and educate women.

Good point about clean vs dirty electricity. But the SB also requires greater renewables. Still the best estimates is a net reduction of only 1% in gloabal greenhouse gases.

On my Audi does have an inner cover for the sunroof. Very similar cars. The Audi just has less wind resitance, thus the better mileage from the same engine.

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Not only better aerodynamics but a slightly different tune and transmission.
Even visully small changes can have large changes in energy usage. Looking at my car (which is about as aerodynamic as a house brick) the change in the grill slats on newer models has improved both the cooling and energy consumption. And changes have a perverse effect- again looking at my car there are three states of tune, 145,160 & 190 bhp, the only changes being the fuelling map in the ECU, m8ne started with the 160 map, the previous owner had the 145 map installed in an attempt to improve the economy, but after a few months reverted to the 160 map as the economy was worse. I decided to try the 190 map, and was quite amazed at the improvement, up from 30mpg to 40mpg (not only on the dashborad but also on miles per tank which stepped from less than 400 to over 500 a saving of more than a fill up per month).

Anyway, back to alternative sources of local energy production, this autumn/winter I'm planning to fit a couple of solar panels to my boat. OK, I know it sounds strange to do it when it is cold and dull, but that is when many of the suppliers in the UK offer their biggest discounts. The energy reason is that I want to reduce the bill for keeping the boat batteries charged and the marina has just increased the cost of electricity by about 60% The boat has a total battery capacity of about 800Ahr of batteries in three banks with a central charging system which will take an input from a solar regulator.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Wind vs Solar in the marine enviornment.

I had a wind generator on my boat.

Here is good review about choosing about which would work better for you.

As for wind, here is a good review of the top 5 wind generators.

I still think I would go with wind over solar. If money allowed I would have a mix of both.

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