Okay, I've got some more updates (I'll put them in a separate post), but I'll comment on some of the more recent posts first:
Oklahoma has passed a law that will require those with solar or wind installations that feed excess power to the grid to pay a monthly fee which, ostensibly, will compensate the utility for grid upkeep.
Good thing I don't live in Oklahoma, I guess.;-)
I wonder if the utility buys back power at the same rate per kWh as they sell it?
In my case, I guess the answer is "yes and no." My system is set up such that the panels connect to my house BEHIND (on the customer side of) the electric meter. The utility has no way of knowing how much the panels are producing. If I'm producing more than I'm using during the day, then the excess goes backward through the meter, running the meter backward, and I earn a credit for that power (in kWh). My expectation is that I'll use those credits pretty quickly (likely that night). In that scenario, the utility is being used as if it were a giant battery (even though it isn't), storing my excess power until I need it later. If I over-produce more than I can use in a month (as is quite possible in the spring and fall), then those credits show up on my electric bill, and are carried over to the next month. The way I understand it, I have a year to use those credits (presumably I would use the ones earned in the spring during the summer, and the ones earned in the fall during the winter), or the utility will pay them out -
at a rate lower than what I paid SolarCity for that energy.
That's the kicker - I *don't* want to get to a point where my total annual consumption is less than the annual production of my system, or I end up selling the extra power back at a loss.
I have seen other setups in other parts of the country (some with SolarCity, some not) where the inverters are connected *only* to the grid (via a second electric meter), and the customer buys ALL of their power from the utility at one (possibly variable) rate, while selling the utility ALL the power their panels produced at a second (possibly variable) rate. But mine isn't set up that way.
A third setup would be to attach a set of storage batteries on the house side of the meter, to store any over-production. If it doesn't go backward through the meter, the utility can't bill for it.
... Noam, in his first post, specified that he isn't even expecting to totally replace his supply from his utility.
Correct - Their estimate was about 77% (based on our usage over the past 12 months). As we reduce our energy usage, though (like by replacing the 1979 refrigerator in our basement with a new one), that percentage should increase (as the total decreases).
If the utilities continue to increase the price of the electricity they supply, more and more homeowners are likely to follow Noam.
Hopefully, those homeowners will contact me first, so I can earn a referral credit. ;-)
Finally, to address Noam's question about how this will affect his X10 gear, the fact that they will feed excess power to the grid means they must maintain both the frequency and sinusoidal wave form so his X10 system should be happy
As I'll detail in my next post, my initial test results were excellent.
...as long as his neighbor stays away from those CFLs he received in the mail. 
I don't think he got them in the mail (but it *is* possible).
