Having power would put you and your homestead in a position of leadership in the community. Personally, I think that anyone with post-SHTF electricity would be putting a lot of it to work running workshops that people would be using to fabricate other wind and water flow generators from parts scavenged from vehicles and scrap metal.

If you want power inverters and battery management electronics super super cheap, then go to your local computer recycle place if you have one and get UPCs with bad batteries, 600 watt or better. I picked up a 12 volt 600 watt unit for free, and a 24 volt 1200 watt unit for $5. You usually cannot tell the actual voltage until you get it apart, and finding out the big one was a 24 volt unit was a bit of a dissappointment, but I am going to wire it up to run on larger external batteries, and then have to do some checking on the solar systems to see if I can run the system off a smaller inverter. The best way to go is a 12 volt 1200 watt or better system since it already has charge controller electronics and the necessary inverters built in. 1200 watts will run most electronic equipment and smaller power tools, but not a bigger table saw or welder.