THERE'S ALWAYS THE SUN . . .

Shocked by the size of the bill we'd received from a local electrician - for what had seemed to be a very basic check of our finca wiring - we decided to use a different company to undertake the major work of installing additional switches, sockets and wiring for our future electricity supply.

We'd been determined to use local labour for any major jobs around the place but, when our two new electricians eventually arrived with their toolboxes and huge reels of cable, we discovered they were actually Argentinian. No matter; they were also efficient, tidy and seemingly shock-proof. We were happy to leave them to get on with the job, while we solved the problem of sourcing some electricity.

GESA didn't want to know us: we were too far away from the nearest mains source for it to be viable to connect our property. Like most of our neighbours, we would be getting our power from the sun, via a solar energy system, with a generator for back-up. Now, doesn't that sound easy?

Knowing nothing at all about the subject, we placed ourselves at the mercy of a company specialising in these things. All we had to do was give them a list of our electrical appliances and a rough idea of usage, then they came up with a solution.

That solution involved 16 solar panels, 21 batteries, an invertor and - of course - a decent-sized generator. All except the solar panels would be housed in the little casita we had built without previous permission, but had had legalised. The panels themselves were to be mounted on a rack, cemented into a base. What we gave no thought to at that time was where we'd actually put what would end up looking like a sunbathing version of the Angel of the North . . .

Copyright Jan Edwards 2008