T he giant concrete tank David Hall is designing for his backyard will hold 1,000 gallons of water and, if all goes according to plan, will be capable of warming all the hot water and providing most of the heat for his Newbury home.

This will be no ordinary home improvement.

Hall's tank will be powered by an intricate grid of steam-filled tubing that is fueled by sunlight. Ideally, Hall said, the contraption will generate pollution-free warmth -- and be cheap enough for him to reproduce for the masses.

''It must be looking out for Mom and Dad's bottom line," Hall said.

President Bush's recent pledge to break America's ''addiction" to Mideast oil imports has renewed debate about the country's dependence on foreign oil and its investment in cleaner sources of power. Soaring energy prices also have fueled consumer interest in alternatives, said Jon Abe, project manager of the Renewable Energy Trust, a quasi-state agency that funds solar- and wind-powered projects. While home heating oil prices have moderated lately, the price per gallon is still running about 22 percent higher now than a year ago.

Since last April, when the trust launched a program geared toward homeowners, nearly $2 million in grants has been awarded to help 130 homeowners statewide install solar systems.

''It's our hottest program," Abe said.

In the past five years, the trust has funded more than 300 other renewable energy projects by schools, nonprofits, and businesses across the state, including a solar installation by Hall, who is hardly a renewable energy novice.

The real estate developer tools around in a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta powered by biodiesel (Think chemically altered french fry oil.) And, in downtown Newburyport, he has 375 solar panels capturing rays from the roof of the Tannery Mall, which he co-owns. The array produces roughly 60 kilowatts of power -- enough to light 1,000 60-watt light bulbs. Or in the Tannery's case, enough juice for about half of the mall's monthly power needs.

The system, which has been operating since the fall of 2004, earns the Tannery bragging rights as the second-largest solar-powered business in the state, according to the Renewable Energy Trust. (Number one is the Massachusetts Innovation Center in Fitchburg.)

But Hall, a 47-year-old bundle of energy in his own right, isn't about to rest on his solar laurels. He and his wife, Lisa, recently started hosting parties in their house to educate area homeowners about solar power, and now they are helping to negotiate discount prices for homeowners to buy preassembled, miniature solar panels for their yards. The setups are designed to generate enough electricity to power several appliances in each home.

''Individually, it's tiddlywinks," Hall said. ''But if a thousand people did this in Newburyport, that would be serious."

Certainly Saugus electrician Andrew Bruno is convinced the future will be solar-powered. Bruno, 38, learned how to wire a solar system at his union's training school in Dorchester a couple years ago and was hooked. Then he applied for a grant from the Renewable Energy Trust and in August was awarded $10,000 toward a 14-panel, 3,500-watt system slated to be installed on his roof this spring. His total out-of-pocket expenses? About $6,000, roughly half the average cost, because Bruno intends to do the wiring and installation himself.

''I hope to break even in a few years," Bruno said. ''If I could be self-sufficient, I would. I wouldn't buy any power."

Homeowners who have to hire professionals to install their solar systems should figure on recouping their costs in about 12 years according to the trust's calculations.

While solar- and wind-power technology have grown more popular, the trust has received few requests from homeowners to install backyard wind turbines because most would face local zoning hurdles, said Abe, the trust's project manager. Solar panels, on the other hand, generally don't spark similar neighborhood backlash. Although the technology behind both forms of renewable energy has grown far more reliable in the past 20 years, the trust requires a five-year minimum warranty from the manufacturer for every project it backs.

That kind of guarantee might have made a big difference for Alberta Bennett, a Gloucester resident who was ahead of the curve when she hired contractors to install a 10,000-watt, 125-foot-tall wind-powered turbine in her tiny backyard in 1982. The oil crunch of the 1970s had made a lasting impression on Bennett, who was determined to blaze an independent, pollution-free path.

''There's tons of wind right here near the ocean," said Bennett, now 56. ''It seemed wasteful not to use natural things."

The turbine worked well for about six months, generating most of the power for her house. Then it broke. The contractor came back and fixed it, at no charge. Six months later, it broke again. This time, Bennett said, the contractor told her that a major part blew in the generator, located near the top of the giant tower, and the repair bill would be at least $10,000.

Bennett had already spent $29,470 having the system installed, in addition to another $10,000 deposit she said she lost from a previous contractor who promised to install a wind-powered system, then took off with her money. Bennett had remortgaged her house in order to purchase the turbine, and was working double shifts as an intensive care nurse. Still, it was tough making ends meet. Wind power, she decided, would have to wait until more flush times.

They never came.

Bennett's towering wind turbine has stood silent ever since. Clematis vines climb its base. Periodically, Bennett shops around for a company that might come and get her turbine moving again, but the estimates, she said, have been too costly. She has been on disability for several years, after injuring her back lifting patients.

Yet the experience has not dampened Bennett's enthusiasm for renewable energy. A few years after the turbine failed, she built a greenhouse across the back of her house that generates enough warmth to allow her to turn her electric heat off by the end of March most years.

''If somebody asked me about wind turbines, I would say, put up a greenhouse first," Bennett said. ''And pray for sunny days."

Kay Lazar can be reached at klazar@globe.com.

RENEWABLE INVESTMENTS

Since its inception last April, the Small Renewables Initiative has awarded grants to 130 homeowners to install solar-powered electric systems.

Average power of installed system	2.84 kilowatts
Average capacity	Generates one-third to one-half of annual electricity for typical-sized home
Average total cost of system (before grant)	$22,354
Average grant to homeowner	$9,800
Average out-of-pocket expense	$12,554*
Estimated time to recoup costs	12 years

*Not including state or federal tax credits

SOURCE: Renewable Energy Trust

NorthTalk

Have high energy prices prompted you to consider installing solar panels, a wind turbine, or other alternative system for your home? Do you think it would pay? Log on to www.boston.com/northtalk. Or write us at globenorth@globe.com or Globe North, 1 Corporate Place, 55 Ferncroft Road, Suite 200, Danvers, MA 01923.