Solar power is such a great concept (initially) if you can get into a true net-metering scenario. Net-metering is when you can trade one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy your panels produce and push onto the grid for one kWh in return from the grid when you need it and not have to pay for it.
Of course, this is problematic on a large scale. On a small scale, utilities tend to allow these types of interconnection agreements because utilities need to comply with mandated green energy scores. What these agreements allow the utility company to do is count the newly installed solar power array as theirs for the purpose of generating energy from a green source. In return for not having to invest their own money into solar generating plants is that they let you use the grid that they operate as a battery. You get to push your generated solar energy onto the grid and accept it back at a later time (like night time) when you need it, at no cost.
On a large scale, if everyone, or most everyone was offsetting 100% or more of their energy through their own solar arrays and getting back the "banked" power for free at night, we would have a huge problem. It would mean that during the day, the grid would experience more power than it could handle, and no way to return the power back at night unless batteries are used to absorb and return the power. Additionally, if no one is charged for the electricity, then who will pay for the transmission lines to be maintained? How does a utility company stay in business?
Solar power has often been marketed as a way to take control of rising costs pushed upon the consumer by the utility company. By adopting solar power, a consumer is often told that they are taking control of the ability to produce power. While these things are not inherently wrong, they do make some bold assumptions, and require net-metering. So long as a net-metering agreement is in effect then it is a correct assumption, but also requires use of a lot of equipment that the utility operates 24/7 in order to work. In the event that the grid is down near the solar array, the array is not allowed to push energy to the grid. A consumer with solar panels in an area with grid downtime will still experience a power outage. This is for public safety.
Wouldn't it make sense for solarized homes to be able to maintain the grid through their own power? Why if the grid is down can a solar array be required to power down and not push power to the grid? Well, simply, it's because the solar array doesn't know why the grid is down. If the grid is down because of a damaged power line, then there could be linemen attempting to repair the grid and if solar arrays are pushing power to the line, it could kill the people attempting to repair it.
This line of thinking frustrates the purchasers of solar power because often times they think that they would like to have access to the potential power sitting in their yard or on their roof.
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