Our summer in western Montana was filled with ups and downs… We had weeks of above 100 degree temperatures, drought, several damaging hailstorms; yet all in all it’s been a pretty good year. Despite the hail our garden was still quite productive, and although the apples and plums were damaged, at least the trees will be around to try again next year. And we are still plugging away helping folks enjoy the benefits of solar power. This issue we offer ideas for solar water pumping and, if you are a rural business, you may qualify for a REAP grant to make your investment in solar more affordable. There’s still a federal tax credit that will help you come next April 15th. Let us know how we can help chose the right equipment for your solar project.

Homes that need low flow and low TDH (total dynamic head) water pumps now have greater economic options. Lorentz and Grundfos now have available small solar-powered water pumps that are considerably less costly then their mainstream pumps; these will be most useful for many of our customers with a lesser water resource.

Both Grundfos and Lorentz have responded to the demand for lower cost water pumping solutions. The Grundfos 5SQF-80 and the Lorentz PS2-100 are able to provide moderate volumes of water delivered to your pressure tank or cistern, making water available for your use. If the cost of having water from a solar powered-water pump has been prohibitive for you to utilize solar, we have new solutions that may be a good fit for you. All solar powered water pumping systems need to be tailored to your specific site and needs; we do have solutions! Visit www.PVsolarpumps.com and answer all the questions on the questionnaire, and we’ll propose a solution to get your water flowing.

Reap Grants: USDA Rural Development has announced their Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) application deadlines for the year ahead: October 31, 2022 and March 31, 2023. REAP offers grants for up to 25% for certain farm, ranch or rural business projects. REAP Eligibility Walkthrough Tool: www.reapeligibility.com This is meant for a farm or a rural small business applicant (or their installer) to answer basic questions one at a time and try to get through the questionnaire with no red flags. If you make it through the questionnaire without issue, you're almost definitely eligible. Also check out https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/WI_REAPGrantAppResources.pdf.

New inverter available! SAMLEX EVO 4248-SP is the new kid on the block. With a continuous rating of 4200W and a surge capacity of 12,600W, and 120/240VAC capacity, this pure sine wave inverter/charger will readily meet the needs of most of our off-grid customers. Works with lead acid or lithium batteries, and offers one AC programmable input from either grid power or generator; user determines what the min and max thresholds are to switch from grid or generator to inverter. Built-in battery charger offers 3 or 4 stage charging; must be used initiated. Also available is a remote option (EVO-RC-PLUS) for ease of programming and monitoring.
This inverter is available for a short time at $1659 plus shipping; the remote is $149 plus shipping. Call or e-mail for additional information on this exciting and cost effective inverter! 406-777-4321 or info@oasismontana.com

They knew it then...

RE Newsbites

Emission-free battery recycling facility in the works:
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/05/10/emissions-free-battery-recycling-facility-will-use-electricity-rather-than-smelting

Electric EVs cheaper than gas models? Depends on the state and incentives.
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/05/12/electric-vehicles-are-cheaper-than-gas-powered-depending-on-the-state-and-incentives/?utm_source=USA+%7C+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b9b33bbde3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_80e0d17bb8-b9b33bbde3-155454613

Cryptocurrency: parasite on the grid.
https://meic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Crypto-fact-sheet-long-final.pdf

WHICH ONES are the highest performing solar modules?
https://modulescorecard.pvel.com/top-performers

Solar powered beer manufacturing:
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/05/18/new-belgium-brews-beer-with-the-help-of-the-sun/?utm_source=USA+%7C+Newsletter&utm_campaign=75d42f2b1a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_80e0d17bb8-75d42f2b1a-155454613

Is residential solar worth it?
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/05/18/is-solar-worth-it/

John Oliver on utilities’ bottom line:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-YRSqaPtMg

Cost of charging an EV:
https://jalopnik.com/that-meme-about-the-cost-of-charging-an-electric-car-is-1849327989

More solar jobs on the horizon!
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/05/20/solar-jobs-80000-trained-in-the-last-three-decades-over-the-next-three-years-double-that

Making water from desert air?
https://news.utexas.edu/2022/05/23/low-cost-gel-film-can-pluck-drinking-water-from-desert-air/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email

Sheep and agri-voltaics in the land down under.
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/06/01/solar-panels-keeping-sheep-fed-during-drought/?utm_source=USA+%7C+Newsletter&utm_campaign=bfe49ebbc4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_80e0d17bb8-bfe49ebbc4-155454613

Renewables could help NW salmon:
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/06/22/renewables-may-replace-hydro-dams-to-restore-endangered-salmon

War in Ukraine and oil & gas profits:
https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/08/un-chief-urges-governments-tax-immoral-excessive-oil-gas-profits

Teenage engineer has a new angle on EV propulsion:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-17-year-old-designed-a-motor-that-could-potentially-transform-the-electric-car-industry-180980550/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

Entirely novel method of storing hydrogen:
https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2022/07/19/entirely-novel-mechanochemical-breakthrough-for-storing-hydrogen/?utm_source=USA+%7C+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6585ba4dc0-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_80e0d17bb8-6585ba4dc0-155454613

How does your state stack up in the clean energy economy?
https://www.cebn.org/state-of-clean-energy/?emci=cfd21087-751a-ed11-bd6e-281878b83d8a&emdi=24f73100-741d-ed11-bd6e-281878b83d8a&ceid=3959210

Climate change drives inflation.
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/18/inflation-climate-change-economy-extreme-weather?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top

U.S. power companies spending big bucks to fight renewables and keep profits high:
https://news.yahoo.com/leaked-us-power-companies-secretly-110017016.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb&tsrc=fb

Study finds 100% renewables would pay off within 6 years New research from Stanford University outlines how 145 countries could meet 100% of their business-as-usual energy needs with wind, water, solar and energy storage.
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/08/09/study-finds-100-renewables-would-pay-off-within-6-years/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-08-11%20Utility%20Dive%20Renewable%20Energy%20%5Bissue:43779%5D&utm_term=Utility%20Dive:%20Renewable%20Energy

Incandescent versus LED lighting:
https://lifehacker.com/the-cost-difference-between-using-led-and-incandescent-1849576073?utm_source=TheOnion_Daily_RSS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2022-09-26

Maybe get a new stove free from the government? And help save the planet…
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-get-a-free-stove-from-the-government-and-help-s-1849431130?utm_source=theroot_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2022-08-19

Wind turbine blades recycled into…gummy bears? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/23/wind-turbine-blades-could-recycled-gummy-bears-scientists?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email

Quotable quotes:

Take your kids to a farm so they don’t think food comes out of a box. – Willie Nelson

I do honestly think that if women were running the world there would be more investment in peace, because basically as women we do not want to see our children killed. Maybe I am completely idealistic, but until we see women in equal positions of power in the world, I just think that we are doomed. --Meryl Streep

Hell is empty and all the devils are here. –William Shakespeare

There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot. -- Robin Williams

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. --Aesop

I’m one of those people who’s not really turned on by baseball. My idea of a relief pitcher is one that’s filled with martinis. –Dean Martin

Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason. — John Harington

I had a lot more fun being 20 in the 70s than I’m having being 70 in the 20s. -- Joe Walsh

If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason’s and Dixon’s, but between patriotism and intelligence on one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other. –Ulysses S. Grant

Before I was six years old, my grandparents and my mother had taught me that if all the green things that grow were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the four-legged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the winged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all our relatives who crawl and swim and live within the earth were taken away, there could be no life. But if all the human beings were taken away, life on earth would flourish. That is how insignificant we are. --Russell Means, Oglala Lakota Nation

You’d better live everyday as your last because one day you’re going to be right. -- Ray Charles

No one, not even all the armies of the world, can stop an idea whose time has come. – Victor Hugo