Here's an example of island living with all the amenities, but completely off-grid. This house, owned by Monica and Jack McVickers, is on Keewaydin Island in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Southwest Florida. There are no full-time residents on the island, no roads, no utilities, and access is by boat only. All fifteen of the homes on the island rely on off-grid electrical systems.
The McVickers house is equipped with a power system large enough to power the appliances in the house, plus tennis court lights and hot tubs.
Treehugger post author Justin Thomas notes that while the McVickers' house has lots of green features, a few more would scale down the electrical load and eliminate the need for their propane back-up generator.
Technorati tags: green building, off-grid
