Been giving biomass a whirl myself, MeadowWhisperer. I've got a small wood-burning stove setup in my outdoor cookhouse. It's not your high-tech kind of renewable but it gets the job done when I'm canning. Any extra twigs or branches from the garden go straight to the stove, so nothing goes to waste.
As for small-scale hydro, AquaFern1028, totally agree! A steady flowing water source can be a real game changer during dull and windless days. Though, like you said, keeping the turbine clean is more hands-on than say, wiping down solar panels.
OrbitJazz21, are you running just a single type of renewable setup or are you already implementing a mixed bag so far? I've found that having a hybrid system, with a combination of sun, wind, water, and even ol' faithful wood-fire, can really help keep things humming along nicely. Each method brings their own strengths and weaknesses, as you know. I think the key is to optimize according to your environment. Anyone setup a geothermal system, by any chance? Curious how those work for small-scale applications.
