[lentulusgracchus]

In two or three years, we'll probably build a PV power plant for a slower well pump

In the oil patch, those long-stroke pump jacks typically are driven by simple engines that run on natural gas and only hit one or two licks per RPM. The gas source is casinghead gas (co-produced and evolving naturally off the oil; it also contains evaporated liquids which are sometimes recovered separately by refrigeration units, or can be burned in the prime mover). If you're in the right part of the country to access natural gas from e.g. the Wolfcamp Shale or another shale formation. You wouldn't need to do all the fancy horizontal drilling -- enough comes out of the shale to be a real nuisance to drilling operators drilling on down to deeper objectives, but just about right for your purposes -- if you're in an area where the Barnett, Eagleford, or Wolfcamp is reachable easily with water-well equipment you could lease, you might look into it; after all, if it's under your property, it's your gas. And if you get too much gas flow and pressures start to build, well, you can connect to your gas utility and run it into their system -- making your meter go backwards. People have done that.

[familyop]

"In the oil patch, those long-stroke pump jacks typically are driven by simple engines that run on natural gas and only hit one or two licks per RPM. The gas source is casinghead gas (co-produced and evolving naturally off the oil; it also contains evaporated liquids which are sometimes recovered separately by refrigeration units, or can be burned in the prime mover). If you're in the right part of the country to access natural gas from e.g. the Wolfcamp Shale or another shale formation. You wouldn't need to do all the fancy horizontal drilling -- enough comes out of the shale to be a real nuisance to drilling operators drilling on down to deeper objectives, but just about right for your purposes -- if you're in an area where the Barnett, Eagleford, or Wolfcamp is reachable easily with water-well equipment you could lease, you might look into it; after all, if it's under your property, it's your gas. And if you get too much gas flow and pressures start to build, well, you can connect to your gas utility and run it into their system -- making your meter go backwards. People have done that."

Thanks! That looks like a great tip for anyone who has a shale formation that's not far down. I wish that were feasible for a resident here, but it's likely very much deeper in my area (near a mile). Drilling only for water is overpriced here (tourism, retirees, Rockies).

That is one excellent idea, though, for anyone who's in a better place for it.