If you have a choice between going off-grid and installing a PV intertie system, do not go off-grid. The economics are horrible, in a relative sense. Off-grid systems use batteries, which are operational and waste nightmares. Plus, you can’t get a mortgage for an off-grid house.
Nevertheless, a movement is afoot to “go back to Mother Nature” by going off-grid. This movement would be better titled, “getting away from humanity while punching Mother Nature in the gut.”
You can save a heckuva lot more pollution by going intertie than off-grid in many ways. If you want to get away from humanity (I’m empathetic, believe me), go backpacking and remember to take biodegradable toilet paper. Then when you get back home, check your intertie PV system to see how much of a net surplus of energy you generated.
