Off the grid

When David Doolen bought land far up Rabbit Creek Valley, he wasn't planning on living off the grid.

"It just turned out that all the economic forces pushed us in that direction," said Doolen, a general contractor who along with his wife Dale has owned the land for 25 years.

Back then the city would have charged Doolen $60,000 to run up a line to connect him to city power, so Doolen decided to keep the lights on using solar power and a diesel generator.

Now Doolen has two solar panels as well as the diesel generator, which is connected to a 300-gallon tank that needs filling about twice a year.

Doolen said he enjoys his unique power system, one side benefit of which is keeping the lights on when the rest of the city suffers through a blackout.

"We always feel pretty smug when that happens," he said.

Contact Joshua Saul at jsaul_alaskadispatch.com.