We are tired of ever increasing Hydro CostsNew

I moved away from commercial power too because of the cost.
Where I live there is not much wind but we have consistantly blowing sea breezes. I decided not to go for windpower on that basis.
I have a sawdust gasifier that produces CO + H2 and traces of methane and I run a car engine driving a 240v 4Kva generator. I use a liner from a 727 airplane as a gas storage unit and the gas is produced each day and stored for night time use.
If you have access to wood fuel this could be another way for you to go. Be carteful and keep the gasifier outside (the heat can be transferred to the house easily enough) as the gas is very poisonous!