Article is about true off grid homes in rural areas where it costs tens of thousands of $ to bring in grid service. Fairly irrelevant to most people and the NEM3 issue.
Quote to summarize the article:
"Off-grid systems are particularly attractive to people building new homes. That’s because installing a 125- to 300-foot overhead power line to a new home costs about $20,000, according to the California Public Utilities Commission. In places where lines have to be buried, installation runs about $78,000 for 100 feet.
That’s why
Wim Coekaerts went off the grid in his 2,800-square-foot home in Woodside, near Stanford University.
His plot sits just across the street from homes that are connected to PG&E. But the utility told him it would cost $100,000 for new electric service, and building a trench for the line, based on regulatory estimates, could add $300,000 or more. So he spent $300,000 after federal tax credits on solar panels and a large battery.
After a year of living in the house, Mr. Coekaerts, an executive at Oracle, is happy with his choice. While his neighbors on PG&E have lost power three times, he said, he hasn’t gone without it “even for a nanosecond.”