[Realism]

Yep, my 4.6kw solar array has a price tag of $35K. It provides about 50%+ of my needs thru the year. If your planning to cut the cable get ready to make some heavy sacrifices.

[TMSuchman]

This is why I was planning on both solar & wind, and it is a multi year project to finish. I figure 3-5 years to do so.

I am not worried about the possible payback, I just want to be more self reliant. We live in a semi-rural area and I worry about power outages [when that happens we loose just about everything, [ie water,lights,computer,tv ect...], and with 2 kids [1 with down syndrome] things can be a little hetic without power.