Thirsty Lake Solar701 North Bozeman Avenue , Bozeman, Montana, United States

Jeff Wongstrom is the owner of Thirsty Lake Solar and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan. During his college and travel years Jeff worked in many construction industry trades including roofing, concrete forming and pouring, rough and finish carpentry, underground cable installation, painting, and remodeling.  In 2006 he completed building an energy efficient off-grid home for his family. Jeff has been certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) as a Certified Solar PV Installer and is a licensed residential electrician. In addition to these qualifications Jeff has received photovoltaic training from Solar Energy International and has attended numerous safety and training workshops.  Jeff has been designing and installing solar electric systems since 1997.  During this time he has also taught the Fundamentals of Photovoltaics online for the University of Montana, worked as a PV Service Technician, and been a member of the Montana Renewable Energy Association.   Jeff has been living with solar electricity and solar hot water both off-grid and on-grid since 1997.  Jeff enjoys backpacking, yoga, meditating, gardening, hunting to put meat in the freezer, projects around the house, and making noise on conga drums.  He has traveled to Australia and New Zealand, Central and South America, and around North America including Mexico and Alaska but now is content to stay home (Do something radical—stay home!) with the chickens. Jeff volunteers at the Warming Center, The Fork and Spoon, and as a hospice companion and aid.