Cows graze on a nearby hill.
Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity at Elam Beiler's Advanced Solar Industries business as
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An Amish man feels a solar panel outside Advanced Solar Industries in Ronks.
Tobacco hangs in a shed to dry.
Horses pulling black-and-gray buggies clop clop by Elam Beiler's business in Ronks every few minutes, unfazed by several purple-and-black solar panels just off the road.
Solar power-use soaringKnown for their lush fields of tobacco, corn and hay, the Amish are now "going green" in a different way.
They tap sunlight to charge batteries for buggy lights, electric fences, refrigerators, water pumps and washing and sewing machines.
The Plain-sect members shun many modern technologies but are leading a local surge in solar-energy use — by Amish and non-Amish alike.
Despite the sluggish economy, sales of solar-panel systems have doubled this year at Beiler's Advanced Solar Industries in Ronks and also at Belmont Solar in nearby Gordonville, which is owned by Ben Zook.
Solar sales to the Amish are up 30 percent, said Beiler. Non-Amish sales are even more brisk — quite a change from when he started selling solar systems in the mid-1990s.
"For the general public, 10 years ago if you said 'solar,' they would look at you like you were from Mars," said Beiler.
Now, more people are starting to realize they can take control of their energy costs, he said.
Businesses can also get a public-relations boost. They install solar panels and then advertise the effort to attract customers concerned about the environment.
Amish are more liberal about using electric power for work than in their homes.
Some of their businesses tap solar power for lighting and to run cash registers, copy machines and fax machines.
Solar energy powers a drill press, soldering gun and other tools in Zook's shop.
At their homes, Amish have typically used diesel fuel to run generators that compress air to power buggy batteries, water pumps and washing machines.
Using solar energy can require a large initial investment, but it lessens the need for the noisy generators and high-priced diesel fuel.
Beiler said a 32-by-56-inch solar panel produces enough power to run four compact fluorescent light bulbs for about eight hours a day.
Solar systems require less maintenance and can save money in the long-term, Zook said.
"You are not dependent on outside power grids," he added. "It gives you self-sufficiency regardless of how high energy prices may go in the future."
Zook took evening classes at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology and became an electrician.
He worked with Beiler for a time before starting his own solar business.
Beiler, 36, and Zook, 25, each sell a range of solar products, from small "Amish buggy charging systems" that cost a few thousand dollars all the way up to $500,000 setups.
They said the Amish community has accepted solar technology, as long as electricity is not installed in homes or used for materialistic, worldly things like television or laptop computers.
Sometimes, Amish wait for a bishop-council meeting before installing solar equipment.
"There have been reservations among church leaders," Beiler said. "I've had reservations myself about where this could go. Electricity in the home could introduce TV and that could break down the culture. I don't see that happening."
Beiler and six others work at Advanced Solar Industries at 3530 W. Newport Road in Ronks. Two crews will install about 300 solar systems this year, he said.
Proposed legislation encouraging use of solar energy could increase sales in coming years so the future seems bright.
Beiler did note one drawback with solar power.
"When the sun don't shine."
Staff writer Ryan Robinson can be reached at rrobinson@LNPnews.com or 481-6032.
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