Wind- and hydro-electric systems are much less common than solar energy systems, and therefore expertise and experience in these areas are rarer. Both have been specialties of mine over the years, through living with and writing about wind electricity, and teaching and coordinating workshops and projects in hydro.

Wind is definitely the most difficult of the renewable electricity technologies to implement. I talk most people out of it—it just isn’t practical in most cases. To make it work, you must be willing to install a tall tower, and either climb or hire someone to climb it at least annually. And you must be willing to invest in rugged equipment and maintain it well. Much of what you hear in the popular press about small wind-electric systems is hype and hogwash. These systems are not cheap, easy, simple, or highly reliable—you need to invest well and do the job right to even have a chance of success.

Hydro is a rare resource for most homeowners. Very few people have abundant falling water on their property. Becausehydro is a combination of vertical drop (pressure) and flow, you need a healthy combination of both to actually make much electricity. But if you have that combo, it’s the first resource to look at, because when it’s there, it’s often the most economical resource to tap. As with other renewable resources, Job #1 is to assess the hydro resource, to find out if it’s worthwhile to use it.