Getting off the Grid: Reducing is so 2009

Everyone knows that “going green” is the new business trend of the decade. And like any trend, companies are trying to be the most green and the friendliest to the environment. The cool part of it, though, is that many company are reaping many benefits from this process. By dropping off the grid, companies everywhere are benefitting, may it be from awesome press or actually cutting down the cost of their energy use.

Many believe that living off the grid means to live a minimalist life style; while others that live off the grid have found that you don't have to give up anything by just using solar, wind or micro-hydro.

Gus Hasn't Paid an Electric Bill in 7 Years

Gus Sansone has 35-mile-an-hour wind gusts to thank for his lack of electric bills. His San Bernardino County, California home is powered by 80-foot wind turbines. Gus told the New York Times in 2007 that his turbines generate enough energy not only for his swimming pool motor and hot tub, but also for the air-conditioning and other electricity in his 1,600-square-foot home.

Here's how it works: the wind blows and a spinning propeller creates power for the home. When the wind isn't blowing, the house takes energy from the power company. When the wind is blowing strong, a turbine can produce excess energy and, depending on the utility company, can result in energy credits for the owner to use later.

The article goes on to say that Mr. Sansone's $32,000 system qualified for a $16,000 rebate from the California Energy Commission as well as credits on his state income tax. Several other states, including Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, offer similar incentives for wind-power purchases. A state-by-state guide with rules and incentives for alternative energy is at dsireusa.org.

Eco and Stlye



The above home, purchased last year for £7.2 million, rests on a bank in Cotswold and is hoped it will produce more energy than it uses. The house plans to save energy with an underground pump and geothermal heating.

The buyer of the home is anonymous, but is rumored to be in the entertainment industry. The 'thoroughly modern manor house', modelled on a bee orchid found on the reserve, will be part of the Lower Mill Estate, built on a 550-acre privately-owned nature reserve near Cirencester, known as the 'Capital of the Cotswolds'.

Building work for the house, which is proving to be a complicated process, will take three years to complete.

Fiji Water

In 2008, Fiji Water announced that it would be the first company to completely eliminate their carbon footprint. And, according to their web site, this includes every step in getting the water to consumers, even if a particular step wasn’t company owned. “Had we only measured the steps we own,” the web site states, “we would have included the bottling plant and company-owned transportation — nothing else."



For the base year ending June 30, 2007, Fiji’s total annual carbon footprint from every stage of its production and distribution was 85,396 metric tons of CO2eq. As of November 2008, the company promised to bring their carbon footprint negative – not neutral – by 120 percent.

The plan, stretching across even what end-users do with the empty bottle, expects the following goals by the en of this year (compared to a July 2006 – June 2007 baseline):
25% reduction in CO2 emissions
50% of energy used in the production process to come from renewable sources
20% reduction in product packaging
33% reduction in waste from the production facility in Fiji
Fiji will work with ICF International to publicly report its progress against the above targets on an annual basis.

The company, headed by owners Stewart and Lynda Resnick, and in consultation with Conservation International, is vowing to reduce carbon emissions in the bottling and shipping process, minimize wasteful packaging, and protect Fiji’s largest lowland rainforest from logging.

Elgo Estate Wines

Wines that don't cost the Earth is the slogan of Australian winery, Elgo Estate Wines. About an hour and half down the Hume High from Melbourne, this company prides itself on it's negative carbon footprint.



Elgo Estate found the appropriate energy levels needed to sustain their wines, from production and refrigeration. Having found what would be needed, the wine makers decided to commit to that level.

The winery runs entirely on wind power. The 150kW wind turbine generates clean electricity and powers everything at the winery, saving about 1 tonne of greenhouse gas per day. The company has even gone far enough to reduce use of tractor trucks and replacing them with sheep, who eat away at the weeds just as effectively.

Elgo often generates more electricity than the property can use, so excess energy is diverted back to the main power grid, which can supply the energy needs of around 34 homes.

The First Carbon-Negative Community

"We pledge Mantria Place will be the first carbon negative community in the nation by 2011," states Troy Wragg, Mantria Corporation Chairman and CEO. "Carbon neutral is simply not good enough given today's environmental issues. At Mantria, we believe that we must go much further to truly help our planet. Our goal is to be carbon negative."

With plans to open in 2011, Mantria Communities will rest on 5,500 aches in Middle Tennessee (Sequatchie County). The community has several plans to stay carbon negative, to begin with, each resident will be required to pay a universal carbon tax. The carbon tax is fixed at $50 per ton, with an estimated 40 tons of carbon being emitted per household, for an annual tax of $2,000. Secondly, by focusing on more organic development products, such as organic concrete, faux rock and bio-diesel bulldozers, Mantria Place has pledged to reduce development emissions by 25%.


"At Mantria Place, our carbon footprint analysis accounts for everything from the actual development to the projected long-term water usage of our golf courses to the paper products that will be each of our restaurants," states Amanda Knorr, Mantria Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer.

Becoming Carbon Negative

Carbon Neutral, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset. But to become Carbon Negative, one must offset their carbon emissions enough to surpass the amount they put out.

Environmental advocates argue that if the entire world became carbon-neutral immediately, it could not save the Greenland ice shelf from melting into the North Atlantic. A new push, becoming Carbon Negative, hopes to offset the carbon emissions enough to restore the planet's condition to an earlier state.