"Make preparations in advance ... you never have trouble if you are prepared for it."-- Theodore Roosevelt
One thing to check on grid tie in your area. Here the contract with the local electric company clearly states that they have the right to lockout your equipment at any time for any reason . When questions were asked they made it clear that if lines were down they would not just do the double throw switch to the grid but would require that the system would have to be completely be shutdown . This is an electric co-op in southern middle Tn. So just a warning to read carefully before you gridtie .