Off the grid.
So I was a bit amused to be watching "Building off the grid: Blue Sky". The person building the ranch talked about how Living and building off the grid is really just a throwback to how people used to live. My immediate thought was and there is a reason they went on the grid as soon as they could.
Mind you with the appropriate items you can provide yourself the benefits of being on the grid. You'll need solar, wind, maybe hydro, and likely a generator of one type or the other. Building a ranch in Montana is going to limit your power options. Ah found it, they use propane to run their generators. I figured it had to be some type of generator because of the various power tools and power usage I see in the show. While I'm certain they would definitely want that as back up I'm uncertain how the costs work out compared to running actual power out to the ranch house.
Additionally you need water purification and heating. Particularly in Montana.
Mind you with the appropriate items you can provide yourself the benefits of being on the grid. You'll need solar, wind, maybe hydro, and likely a generator of one type or the other. Building a ranch in Montana is going to limit your power options. Ah found it, they use propane to run their generators. I figured it had to be some type of generator because of the various power tools and power usage I see in the show. While I'm certain they would definitely want that as back up I'm uncertain how the costs work out compared to running actual power out to the ranch house.
Additionally you need water purification and heating. Particularly in Montana.