It seems the Amish in Ohio are not the only ones who are interested in solar technology. Could this be a trend?
Stoltzfus is an Amish traditionalist. He works with his hands at a sawmill, wears plain clothes and the requisite straw hat, and doesn’t care much for the conveniences of the mainstream world. But he uses solar energy to charge batteries for buggy lights, flashlights and the nebulizer that his 6-year-old son sometimes uses for his asthma.
“I wouldn’t do without it,” he said.
As solar panels become more available, affordable and easy to use, the technology has been embraced by Amish communities here in Southern Maryland, in Pennsylvania, Ohio and elsewhere. While connecting to the public power grid is generally frowned upon as an unhealthy intrusion on their simple lifestyle, the Amish have long considered energy sources such as diesel and gasoline engines — and now solar power — a legitimate way to fire up buggy lights and sewing machines and meet the rest of their modest electrical needs.
“The Amish appear to have skipped the 20th century in a sense,” said Bill Spratley, executive director of Green Energy Ohio, a nonprofit that promotes renewable energy. “They are using technology most of us consider advanced — and they’re considered the plain people!”