RogerRabbit said:

Here's a new strain of shiitake I've been working with.  It fruits on softwood sawdust and likes to be frozen solid for a few weeks before fruiting.  There's a thread on this strain in gourmet forum.
RR

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RogerRabbit said:

I built this underground so it would require no heat in winter or cooling in summer.  The air exchange system is passive, requiring no fans or other energy consuming equipment.  The humidification system is also passive, with rocks lining the floor, which will be sprayed with water twice a day.  The lighting is LED and will only amount to a few dollars per month.

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Sounds Green

Here are some extra steps you could make to take yourself further off the grid... I don't know how "Off the grid" you are looking for... But these steps would make you self reliant to the point you would only need to bring in substrate... I don't know how much energy you consume sterilizing or pasteurizing So I only posted a Solar panel kit that could handle you LED's... But you could scale up the Panels to the point you don't pull any Electrical energy off the grid but could actually Add electricity... (let the power company pay you!) You said a couple dollars a month so a 120 watt panel would equate to a couple dollars a month...

(Solar is expensive... getting cheaper now... but still expensive, I don't know how much $$$ you can spend but the Rain Water Collection is a reasonable price)

1 Solar Panel Solar Panel Kit - Ebay $596.87 / 120-Watt High-Efficiency Polycrystalline Solar Panel

2 Rain Water Collection. Rain Water Collection System - Ebay $174.99 / Rain Storage Barrel 200 gallon


Hope this helps with Ideas!
I will pray that you get your Grant! Great job!