Living way out in the sticks can be quite a challenge, especially when it comes to finding solutions for your energy needs, but thanks to modern green technology there are reasonable solutions to meet your electrical demands.

Solar energy is rapidly becoming the front runner in supplying rural populations with reliable, cheap, clean, and sustainable energy. Rather than call up the electric company and have them dig a 30 mile trench, lay piping, and pulling wire just to supply your house and farming equipment, getting solar panels installed can be just as effective and save you precious time.

Sean Murphy, a horse breeder in Crestone, CO has utilized solar energy to maximize his business.

“At first, I tried jumping through the hoops to get Xcel to supply my house and stables with more power, but they said it would take them up to three months to hardwire another line.” said Murphy.

After a few conversations with his wife Kelly, who brought up the idea of a solar solution to their expanding business, the Murphy’s decided to retrofit solar panels to the roof of their largest stable.

“The decision to go solar was the best choice we’ve made since we decided to buy another mare,” said Murphy. “Sure, the start-up cost set us back a bit, but we had more power in a quarter of the time it would’ve taken Xcel, and almost immediately we started to see major savings on our bill.”

In the long run, about five-ten years on average, a solar energy system will pay for itself by reducing or even eliminating those costly energy bills. Travis Bradley of MIT notes that, “over 90 percent of the lifetime cost of a system is paid up-front.” This 90 percent of lifetime cost is almost exclusively tied up in initial investment spending, such as installation fees and the cost of buying the materials and panels themselves. Other than that, there are only minor costs for maintenance that need to be applied to the cost of a solar-powered home or business.

“If I had the chance to do it all over again I wouldn’t have even bothered with anything but solar, maybe a couple small wind turbines because it gets pretty windy out here,” added Murphy. “But the money and time we saved by not waiting for the energy company to plug us in has really helped us out.”