"There's a desire to step out of the rat race, and in America, that goes very deep in the national psyche, " says Nick Rosen, author of "Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America" and editor of www.off-grid.net.

CNN: 5 great spots for dropping off the grid

Main.net's system skips the high-voltage lines, injecting data into the grid further downstream, on medium-voltage (4, 000 to 25, 000 volts) lines.

FORBES: Technology