Unfortunately that isn’t as easy as it sounds.., obviously. We found some interesting lots which could serve our purposes. Because the information we had was a bit thin we decided to go to Belgium and have a look.

The good news is that we have a better understanding of how large 3000 square meters really is, the bad news is, it’s going to be tough to find just the right piece of land.

The thing is that Earthship Biotecture claims you can build an Earthship anywhere in the world.., and you can. As long as it has a clear view to the south, not in a forest, not where the groundwater is close to the surface and there might be a few other criteria I do not know about.., yet.

So finding a piece of land is not as easy as it might be with a regular house.

As we were to find out…

The first lot we looked at turned out to be in a forrest, with big trees. Next to fact that it looked like a trailer park we could never get enough sunlight to heat up the house and generate enough power. Wind energy would also be a problem.

The second lot was bigger and greener, but this lay in a valley. And water ran on both sides of the lot with to the south a hill. Just big enought o prevent the winter sun from entering the house.

Here this story ends, but the quest continues. It will take some time to find a good spot. We learned a lot from this trip and will put it to good use.

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If you want to know more about Nanosolar check out their website.

Nanosolar, a heavily financed Silicon Valley start-up whose backers include Google’s co-founders, plans to announce Tuesday that it has begun selling its innovative solar panels, which are made using a technique that is being held out as the future of solar power manufacturing.

The company, which has raised $150 million and built a 200,000-square-foot factory here, is developing a new manufacturing process that “prints” photovoltaic material on aluminum backing, a process the company says will reduce the manufacturing cost of the basic photovoltaic module by more than 80 percent.

Nanosolar, which recently hired a top manufacturing executive from I.B.M., said that it had orders for its first 18 months of manufacturing capacity. The photovoltaic panels will be made in Silicon Valley and in a second plant in Germany.

While many photovoltaic start-up companies are concentrating on increasing the efficiency with which their systems convert sunlight, Nanosolar has focused on lowering the manufacturing cost. Its process is akin to a large printing press, rather than the usual semiconductor manufacturing techniques that deposit thin films on silicon wafers.

Nanosolar’s founder and chief executive, Martin Roscheisen, claims to be the first solar panel manufacturer to be able to profitably sell solar panels for less than $1 a watt. That is the price at which solar energy becomes less expensive than coal.

“With a $1-per-watt panel,” he said, “it is possible to build $2-per-watt systems.”

According to the Energy Department, building a new coal plant costs about $2.1 a watt, plus the cost of fuel and emissions, he said.

The first Nanosolar panels are destined for a one-megawatt solar plant to be installed in Germany on a former landfill owned by a waste management company. The plant, being developed by Beck Energy, is expected to initially supply electrical power for about 400 homes.

The company chose to build its plant in southern San Jose, news that was cheered by local development officials. Much of the microelectronics industry created here has moved to Asia and new factories are a rare commodity in Silicon Valley.

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Yep, it’s true.., sad.., but true. Since we’re definitely not going to Africa, at least not via a grand adventure, I’m afraid George is rather a beast of burden. An impractical one at that. He needs to do what he is build to do, bred to do, born to do.
Please, somebody, give him his adventure.
Visit expeditielandrover.nl for more info.

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It all started when the Mister decided to visit a rustic camping site up in the Pyrenees.
This happened on the way up through Europe during a nice vacation I and the M&M were having.

When you are getting to a certain age there are certain parts of the whole which tend to wear just a little. If, or rather when these parts are put to the test in arduous conditions one has to take into account that something might give.

As it happened on our homeward-bound journey after we drove over and through the aforementioned Pyrenees and made it to the southern regions of France. A strong wind was blowing and the slopes of the low mountains were still steep enough for the M&M to change to a lower gear in order to make it to summit after summit.

A 20 odd kilometers under Clermont-Ferrand the Mister shifted up from fourth gear after a particularly fast ascend with a high tail wind. The second the Mister released the clutch we all felt a braking sensation from the front axle.
The Mister reacted by immediately pulling over to the hard shoulder and the Misses expected nothing less from the Mister.

First thoughts had to be a flat tyre, but, with the BF Goodrich All-Terrains this is highly dubious. After a quick diagnosis by the Mister nothing seemed wrong.., at least nothing in immediate line of sight.

Driving on proved that something was indubitably wrong. At this point even I could not tell exactly what was wrong but I did feel a certain unease.., I swaggered intoxicated over the road like a newly made Land Rover taking his first drive.

The decision to stop was made and we headed of the main road in order to take a pause, another look, and finally call our friends at the ANWB.

After being transported on a trailer the tending mechanic could not find anything with me. He checked all the suspension as we thought that might be it.., it wasn’t. The Misses proved to have an uncanny linguistic talent and was actually able to have something that might be considered a conversation with the mechanic. But, we did leave the garage unsatisfied and confused.., we did feel something.., we we’re quit sure.

Only a few minutes after leaving disturbing noises grew louder and louder and the M&M could even feel vibrations of some sort through my floor. Now we knew for certain something was very wrong and we headed back to the garage.

Again the mechanic lifted me and crawled under me to revisit his previous conclusions. This time more focussed…

When he put my two right wheels in the air, started my engine and released the first gear the noise was unmistakable.

The transfer box was shot, something had given way inside during my arduous adventure through the Pyrenees.

I could not be driven home. I had to be abandoned.., and so they did.

I am to be transported, again, on a trailer, but this time all 950 kilometers to British4x4 where they will.., again.., take care of me.

Stay well…

George

Resolve to be thyself: and know, that he who finds himself, loses his misery.

- Matthew Arnold -

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