Fly Geyser

people.tribe.net/bobzilla/...27b8c05107

Oh, OK, Snow Koan, I now know who you mean. They do care enough to make sure their panels are put into or returned to grid-tie service after the event, so that's the right thing to do.

They belong to a professional Solar systems outfit. Here is the story from Tuesday's Black Rock Beacon:
SNOW KOAN LIGHTS UP THE PLAYA
By Rod Allen

Snow Koan Solar has been bringing solar arrays to the Playa for four years — but this year, the camp has brought enough equipment to power a whole village at Black Rock City, or five to 10 Californian energy-guzzling homes.
Will Power, Snow Koan Solar’s camp leader, said that if the number of gasoline-powered generators on the Playa could be reduced, Burning Man would not only be a cleaner event but Burners might save some money, too. “They care about the earth with their ‘leave no trace’ policy,” he said, “but they don’t seem to give a shit about the air.”
This year’s Snow Koan camp has an array of 144 solar panels, generating 24.5 kilowatts of electricity at full power (less if it is cloudy, and a little less if the panels get dusty.) This, Snow Koan is supplying all of Nectar Village and some outlying camps as well.
Some of the users are supplied direct by means of a microgrid, while others get their electricity delivered in the form of heavy-duty batteries, of the kind used in
Snow Koan Lights Up the Playafork lift trucks, which are recharged by the solar array.
Power’s associate, Still Marc, said anyone, whether a hobbyist, homeowner, or business, can save money using solar power. The panels, which cost $600 each, supply 175 watts, and in California you get paid by the state for all the surplus electricity you pump back into the system.
Power has been interested in electricity “since he was three years old”, he said, and he is frustrated by the way in which people fail to understand the potential of solar-powered systems.
He was critical of the Burning Man organization for using gas-powered vehicles at Black Rock City, and says that his main objective, prior to taking over the world, would be to see the Bmorg banning two-stroke scooters on the Playa and then to adopt electric-powered vehicles overall.
Snow Koan Solar can be found at DNA and 8:30.

I love my own little garden solar lights.

Coincidentally, the Gerlach area narrowly missed getting a massive coal burning power plant a few years ago which would have pumped massive amounts of water from the ground possibly fucking up the area's hot springs for ever, not to mention putting nasty stuff like mercury into the air. Not to mention CO2.

Checkout the 8/31/2005 Black Rock Beacon archive:

blackrockbeacon.org/archive.htm