An increasing number of Australians are choosing an off-grid lifestyle. As they pursue their desires for sustainability and independence from centralized traditional utility systems. Annie Smallmon and Steve Charman are fellow eco-dreamers from two very different eco-communities. They have each embraced this lifestyle for their own unique reasons. Smallmon has proudly called Starlight Community her home for the past 15 years. Meanwhile, Charman has been living the high life for going on 20 years in Chewton Bushlands—all without ever having to pay a power bill.
The Starlight Community, located in southeast Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hinterland, consists of 130 hectares of land and only 35 residents. The small community runs off of rainwater, septic, solar power, and battery storage. More recently, they’ve been able to add new battery systems which allow residents to finally have access to electric lights at night.
At the same time, Chewton Bushlands has been hailed as one of Australia’s first off-grid communities, housing around 100 residents. It’s those qualities that attracted Charman to move there 20 years ago in the first place, lured by a focus on sustainability and conservation. He dazzled everyone with his lifelong obsession with conservation. Now, he says it’s time to practice what he preaches and take a lower-energy approach in his own life.
As the world of off-grid living continues to change, other communities such as Australia’s Narara Ecovillage are gaining prominence. Founded in the 1970s, Narara has around 200 permanent residents. They get all the comforts of mains electricity and do their green thing. Jonathan Keren-Black and his wife Sue recently moved from Melbourne to live on Narara Eco Farm. What inspired them was the uniquely community, self-sufficient spirit of their community.
Dr Peyman Akhgar, a leading sustainable living expert, said that off-grid technologies were becoming more affordable and widely available. He noted that the increasing effects of climate change will do serious harm to grid reliability, pushing more customers to consider defection from the grid.
The dream of living off-grid has also become more appealing as the costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and batteries have plummeted. Combined, these innovations have turned solar into the most cost-effective energy source for people who want to go off-grid.
In Chewton Bushlands, Charman has faced challenges with his new battery system. Because fundamentally, it just can’t generate enough electricity to power basic appliances, including an electric refrigerator. And then the way he told those stories, too. In the winter, the lights would simply turn off once the batteries ran out, he remembers. It was definitely a change from what I had experienced.
Nonetheless, with all of these challenges, Charman hasn’t given up on his off-grid lifestyle. “When I tell people I haven’t paid a single power bill in 20 years, they go, that’s fantastic! The person who set this up in today’s money would’ve paid around $50,000,” he explained.
Annie Smallmon’s experience at Starlight Community exemplifies a different but just as profound answer. She loves putting her cares aside while enjoying the rustic beauty and peace of her hometown. The homes along the narrow lanes have a colorful, original, and artistic pattern that matches the gorgeous topography. Living off-grid is simple and more affordable,” she said. Smallmon underscored the contrast that space and nature make in her life. She continued, “There’s just no way I could afford to retire and pay electricity and water in any of the towns. I just wouldn’t survive. Here, I have five acres that I can hike all over and have fun. It’s very restorative.
At Narara Ecovillage, residents take sustainability a step further by producing their own power and cultivating their own vegetables. Jonathan highlighted their community’s commitment to self-sufficiency: “On most days we generally export about a megawatt of spare power,” he said. “Most of the time we’re off-grid. Everyone else needs to go solar in the town.”
These off-grid communities grow, providing options for people who are dealing with big city housing issues. Keren-Black proposed that if the government provided some support for setting up these types of communities, they would spread like wildfire. Talking about manufactured housing, “They can be the silver bullet to the housing crisis,” he claimed.
Dr. Akhgar believes the trend will continue to appeal to more people. This optimistic trend is entirely dependent on technology innovation and changing environmental circumstances. In reflection, he mentioned that unlike in the past, today’s off-grid communities enjoy access to modern technologies, like computer technologies and internet connectivity. He insisted that nowadays, communities that are off the grid can plug into the grid for most technologies, such as computers and the internet. As such, they don’t operate or feel any different from grid-connected ones.
