To Conserve or Not to Conserve

Here are some words I never thought I would utter: I can't wait for the new generator to arrive!

Right now, our electricity is generated by a wind turbine & some solar panels, but mostly by a 75kw generator. The turbine & solar panels are recent acquisitions, all installed within the last 3 years. Also in the last 3 years, all of the light bulbs & fluorescent fixtures have been replaced, making the island more efficient overall. This is great... sort of. Until the smaller generator arrives, we'll be making way more electricity than we can use!

Here on Appledore, resource conservation is a credo that we encourage everyone to abide by. Students are told to be mindful of resources, especially water, which is very scarce out here. We tell them not to flush the toilets, and to take navy showers.

A sign on the shower door reminds you to conserve.

So... it's pretty frustrating that we're sending mixed messages. "Turn the water off when you're not using it, but please turn the lights ON when leaving the room." Does this sound strange to anyone else?

This is why I'm looking forward to the new generator, which will operate at about half the capacity of the old generator. It will produce only the electricity we need during peak season (a little more than we'll need during less busy times) which saves us from burning many gallons of diesel fuel unnecessarily. It should be here by next week! Yay!