Amish Embrace Solar,Tapping Judiciously Into `God’s Grid’

Pennsylvania’s Amish, who have traditionally shunned modern conveniences such as electricity and automobiles, are increasingly using solar power to run machines and appliances used in their work, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sales of solar panels, many of them bought by Amish families, have increased sharply in Lancaster County, home to Pennsylvania’s largest Amish community. The Amish have steadfastly refused to tap into the electricity grid and have previously used gasoline-powered generators to help them with their work. But increasingly the Amish are using solar panels to power electric fences, buggy lights, sewing machines, refrigerators, and work tools, tapping into what one Amish expert called “God’s grid.” Amish elders have not objected to this limited use of solar and wind power, but members of the community say that renewable energy sources would never be used to electrify an entire house or power televisions and computers, since these uses would have the potential to destroy Amish culture.