For what it's worth, Shawn, one of the things that will add the most value to your property is a grid electrical connection. So even if you have to spend $30,000 to do it, it will increase the value of your property at least that much, if not more. It won't get any cheaper if you wait. It gives you the option to
sell if you want to, or get a bigger loan if you need one, and to actually make a real
profit off of a remote place.
I've had
solar for 20 years, and it's got some real maintenance expenses. Five days without sun and you've got to have alternative
energy sources. I thought I'd be able to run a bunch of stuff on the
solar, but instead I have an electrical
hot water heater that's unused, an electrical hotplate that's unused, a 700-watt microwave that's not strong enough to do popcorn (sometimes you just want quick popcorn!),and a smaller refrigerator than we're used to (which is not bad, actually).
I wouldn't even think about charging a car on our house solar set-up, and it's been a very good system. A separate car-charging station would also be something that would add value to your property.
We have 25 gallons of gas always stored, 2 seven-gallon tanks of propane + 1 five-gallon tank just in case, just for cooking, not heat. 10-gallon tanks are too heavy to lug around. Always backups, particularly in the winter.