It was a hefty power bill that prompted retired radio engineer Ken Larkin to look into building his own solar power system. Two years later he is almost completely self-sufficient.

Concerned about rising energy costs, Maclean man Ken Larkin bought and installed 20 solar power panels from China.

He has also installed a tracking system, which allows them to swivel vertically and horizontally to maximise the sunlight throughout the day.

This, he said, generates 40 per cent more power than fixed panels would.

"When the sun comes up it locks on and follows the sun around until the sun disappears over the Woodford Island hill."

The setup cost $35,000.

But when weighing up the initial outlay with the bills he had started to receive, Mr Larkin said the panels are already starting to pay themself off.

"The one that shocked me was $1,200 for a hot summer period.

"My estimated bill for this coming quarter is going to be under $200 and most of that will be service availability charges that they snuck in on us."

Unlike some solar systems, the power is not put back into the grid, but stored in batteries.

A small hum that can be heard from Mr Larkin's tiny front room is 480 electric bicycle cells working away to store up to 24 hours of power.

While last month he generated 92 per cent of his power, on days of thick cloud he has to rely on the grid.

"So far for the month of May, eight per cent of the power I've used has come from the grid.

"As I've refined and found the little efficiencies I can get in the system by studying it, logging it and fine-tuning it, I've found that I can get better use out of it."

The North Coast Energy Forum being held on Friday 31 May will discuss the development of home-grown sustainable energy systems in the region.