The Cost of Going Off-Grid
Slate News
Slate Podcasts
4.5 • 6K Ratings
🗓️ 27 March 2022
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Going off-grid can seem appealing in lots of ways. But are there consequences if everyone unplugs from the system? Are there costs we haven’t considered?
Guest: Ivan Penn, renewable energy correspondent for the New York Times
Host: Seth Stevenson
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This episode is brought to you by Best Buy. This year let Best Buy be your holiday |
| 0:05.3 | height partner. Whether you're searching for exciting gifts, trying to snag the hottest |
| 0:09.3 | holiday deals or looking for ways to simplify the giving and receiving experience, Best Buy is |
| 0:14.7 | here to help. Best Buy has the best assortment of impactful tech gifts, along with fast and free |
| 0:20.9 | fulfillment options and great deals all season long. Maybe you're looking for an air-fire to help |
| 0:26.9 | the aspiring foodie in your life unlock new recipes, or a new phone or camera for an aspiring |
| 0:32.6 | filmmaker who's turning their passion into a side gig. Or you might be on the hunt for a new |
| 0:37.8 | smartwatch to support a friend's wellness journey. No matter what you're looking for, Best Buy is your |
| 0:43.2 | gifting destination for everyone on your list. And Best Buy makes it easy to get your gifts how and |
| 0:49.4 | when you need them with free next day delivery on thousands of items, as well as same day delivery |
| 0:54.7 | and in-store pickup options, shop great deals on gifts now at Best Buy. |
| 1:07.8 | When you think of someone going off grid, living in a house that's entirely self-sufficient, |
| 1:12.9 | with no connection to the utility companies most of us count on to power all our stuff, |
| 1:17.7 | you may be pictures some sort of doomsday prepper in a unibomor shed out there in the wilderness. |
| 1:23.0 | But Ivan Penn says that's not the reality. Sure, there are those who are |
| 1:29.5 | you know living in the tiny homes, rusted cabins. But what really surprised me was there are people |
| 1:38.4 | in just really modern middle-class homes. And in some cases, very large estates, some with hot |
| 1:48.0 | toms, swimming pools, and they were operating entirely without any connection to the electric grid. |
| 1:59.6 | Ivan is the renewable energy correspondent for the New York Times, and he recently reported |
| 2:04.1 | on people who chosen to go off grid, setting up solar panels and battery systems so they can |
| 2:09.8 | disconnect their homes from the utility companies power lines. What he found was that they weren't |
| 2:14.4 | necessarily tree hugging hippies, but they weren't necessarily survival preparedness types who are |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Slate Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.