A solar website

The thesis and current information on the server's energy production and consumption here: pleasureinscarcity.com

More than a year ago, I handed in my Master's thesis with the title Pleasure in Scarcity. I applied this principle to the format of the thesis itself.

It is hosted on an autonomous server that is powered by a solar system and a battery - simply put, a medium that is directly connected to a limited, local energy source. During extended periods of bad weather, this website will go offline. It gives the user the possibility to use an energy saving mode, whereby up to 80% less data is transmitted. It shows the reality of the global data and energy infrastructure and is at the same time an example and a proposal for an internet with limited accessibility.

The solar-powered server is located in Xirocourt, eastern France, with seasonal daylight hours between 8h19m and 16h07m.

More about the format of a solar-powered website here: pleasureinscarcity.com/chapter/27

This format of a solar website is inspired and influenced by solar.lowtechmagazine.com. Its articles around building a lowtech server informed the design choices made, both, in terms of hardware and software.

Thanks to Botho this website come to life. Find the code for this static site on Github.

Renewable energy sources are not capable of producing enough energy at all times and conditions, to serve the current needs we have become accustomed to. The only way to make the Internet fully compatible with renewable sources of energy is by choosing to self-impose limits.

The content of this website is based on design decisions that limit and reduce data traffic from digital sources (image dithering, static website, local system fonts, no external scripts).

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