Too much is made of the Big Brother/Oil Baron side of this issue. There are lots of companies that sell this equipment, but they do not market well and are not customer friendly.
I looked into solar for a small application to power a boat dock. This seemed reasonable since the roof over the dock is out away from shore and gets almost continual sun. All I needed to power was a few lights and the boat lift, which is essentially a vacuum cleaner motor/blower.
The companies I contacted said it was very feasable, then gave me a large worksheet to develop my loads so I could take that information and determine what would be required. I'd then have to order all the separate components, from the panel, to the voltage regulator, to the batteries, to the inverter. Then I would have to install these myself and/or hire an electrician. The dock is on a US Corps of Engineers managed lake, so they would also require a licensed electrician to submit plans and certify the installation.
I buried a 10G line down to a pole next to the dock.
