Virgil “Zeke” Thomas is a walking, talking, animated encyclopedia on solar power, not to mention wind, and maybe even water next. He’s refitting his Port Charlotte home through a unique green energy book — for pennies on the dollar — a book he’s writing himself day by day.

Thomas, 78, a native of Vermont, a pilot for 40 years, and a retiree from the Air Force Reserve and the Navy, still flies search and rescue sorties weekly for the Coast Guard out of St. Petersburg, covering territory from the Panhandle to Everglades City.