1/4 mile is not a problem unless you dont own or have the access to the property inbetween.1/2 inch or 5/8 poly tubing in only .10-.15 cents per ft at you local HomeDepot/Lowes type store. For less than $200.00 you should be able to have an air line from your power source to the pond. This line can stay above ground or be shallow trenched in. A freeze control unit is simple to hook into this system for above ground application.Greg is correct on the cloud situation and seems the same as far as wind for the windmills a lot of the time too.If you want to send your pond length and width to our email on the website I would be glad to size you a simple system that will give you as much open winter water as possible.As far as solar we have shipped several one and two diffuser units to New Mexico and southern California but they ran them off of panels and batteries they already had so I cant be of help in that area.