Off-Grid Power in Southcentral Alaska | Homestead Rescue: Intervention "Alaska Winter-vention"
When determination alone isn’t enough, the right team and the right power system can change everything.
Location: Southcentral Alaska, near Mount Denali
Clients: Leighann and Jon Judd, and their daughter Ivy Karma
Installer Partner: All Phase Electric | Patrick Schoonover
System Size: 9.6 kWh
System Components: eForce 9.6 kWh Battery + Envy 8K Hybrid Inverter
The Need
Leighann Judd had dreamed of Alaska since she was a child. She had lived there briefly and always felt like she was meant to return. That pull never went away, and eventually she and her husband Jon made the decision to go. They had already spent two years homesteading in North Carolina, building skills and resolve, and when they were ready to make the move north, they committed fully. They packed everything up, drove seven days to Alaska, and arrived at the 10-acre property they had purchased on the Kenai Peninsula, only to find the gate locked. They could not get onto the land. The deal had fallen through entirely, and they were left with nothing to show for the move.
Devastated but not defeated, they pushed forward. They eventually settled on one acre near Mount Denali in southcentral Alaska and began trying to build a life from the ground up. The challenges were immediate and relentless. Their cabin was becoming uninhabitable due to moisture buildup on the roof and black mold throughout, so they moved into two tents outside, living exposed to the snow, rain, bears, and moose that come with remote Alaskan wilderness. They had no water on the property and had to drive seven miles, three to four times a week, to collect water from a local spring, bringing back 90 gallons at a time. Testing revealed arsenic in the water collected from the spring, though the family had been using it out of necessity. When they could afford it, they would buy drinking water in town.
There was no reliable source of income. The old generators and outdated solar panels on the property provided inconsistent and insufficient power. There was no way to grow food on the land. Jon, a man deeply committed to self-reliance and living as the homesteaders before him did, resisted asking for help. Leighann’s uncle Roger eventually reached out to the Raney family on their behalf. Jon and Leighann set their pride aside and accepted, something they had never been willing to do during their time in North Carolina.
Their story was featured on Discovery’s Homestead Rescue: Intervention, in an episode called “Alaska Winter-vention.”
The Solution
The Raney team arrived and got to work quickly, tackling every major gap standing between the Judds and a viable homestead. At the center of the plan was a Fortress Power system paired with new solar panels, installed by All Phase Electric out of Alaska. The eForce 9.6 kWh battery, Envy 8K inverter, and eWay wire management system brought reliable, modern off-grid power to a property that had never had it. The system powers cooking, the washer and dryer, and critically, the heating elements and grow lights inside the new greenhouse.
The rest of the rescue addressed what power alone could not fix. The Raneys built a four-season greenhouse with heating elements, grow lighting, and water-wicking design so the family can grow food year-round regardless of the Alaskan winter. They converted a shipping container into a convection wood kiln so Jon could dry the timber he cuts on the property and sell it, giving the family a real source of income. They also helped him turn wood into art pieces he could sell for additional income. A well was dug 40 feet down, bringing clean, uncontaminated water directly to the property and ending the twice-weekly haul to the spring. New insulation was installed in the cabin to eliminate the moisture problem and the hot roof that had been allowing mold to grow. A separate living space was built for Ivy. A cordwood dog kennel was constructed to keep the family’s three dogs safe and on guard against wildlife around the clock. And a chicken coop was added for year-round eggs and a reliable protein source.
Misty Raney Bilodeau, co-host of Homestead Intervention, made clear how central the energy system was to making the rest of the rescue work: “So this system helps with the greenhouse because we have to figure out how we’re growing food right now. We’re gonna do it with this. It’s the only way that I’m going to be able to pull out of here and know that you guys are going to have food for the winter.”
Marty Raney added: “This is a very generous company that makes an off-grid power system designed for cold weather places.”
Results
The transformation at the Judd homestead was total. Where there had been tents, mold, arsenic-laced water, and no dependable power, there was now a functioning home with clean water, food production, a path to income, and reliable electricity running everything on the property.
For Jon, a man who had built his identity around self-reliance and not needing anyone, the impact went deeper than the practical. He said that having a Fortress Power system gave him “a new lease on life.”
The system now supports cooking, laundry, the greenhouse heating and lighting that keep food growing through the Alaskan winter, and all other essential power needs on the property. With the wood kiln operational and income coming in from timber and woodworking, the family has a foundation they did not have before. And with clean well water on site, the grueling water runs are behind them.
Built to Stay
Leighann always felt Alaska was where she was meant to be. Getting there cost the Judds more than most people will ever face. What the Raney family, Homestead Rescue: Intervention and Fortress Power helped provide was not just equipment and infrastructure, it was the foundation to actually stay.
For families living off the grid in some of the most unforgiving climates in North America, reliable power is not a luxury. It is what makes everything else possible: growing food, running a home, building an income, and getting through a winter with confidence instead of survival mode. The Fortress Power eForce 9.6 kWh battery, paired with the Envy 8K inverter, was built for exactly these conditions.
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