Through the years, you may have seen solar energy here, there, and everywhere in between — well, almost.
Solar energy user Rose Hale lives in rural Knox County in Tennessee.
Hale is able to power her renovated hay barn with mostly solar energy, sometimes for days on end. She only sends the power company a few bucks a month.
“There will be some nights that I go past midnight without even touching the grid,” said Hale.
In case of bad weather or something more cataclysmic, Hale likes having the peace of mind that solar energy brings her.
“I wanted to be able to take care of myself if there was a catastrophic outage,” Hale said.
The Tennessee Valley has been slow to adopt residential solar energy, compared to regions with more dependable sunshine.
Charles Sims, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Department of Economics,…