Pellet boiler off-grid?

I put a version of this in the Green Room and didn't get many bites, so I thought I'd try over here to see if you folks have some thoughts!

Hubby and I might have the opportunity to reno my great-grandparents house on the island (off-grid) and do it up for a summer vacation rental. It was built in 1937 but no one has lived in it since 1981. The family has kept up the essentials. However, there is currently no heat or hot water system in the house. It originally had a wood furnace, presumably with ducts sized for passive exchage (no electricity for a blower).

Usual hot water for off-grid is propane (either tank or on-demand). We will have to have propane for cooking and likely a dryer (for bedding). However, getting propane to the island is a hassle and I can't woman-handle 100 lb propane tanks by myself. I would like to minimize that if possible. We do have some electricity (currently from a generator but we are looking into renewables).

Alternate heat would definitely be nice. The house is right on the water and it can get chilly at night, even in the summer. I am wary of lighting woodstoves in the summer - cedar shake roofs and dry weather and no fire department just seem like a really bad idea. By the end of September (prime fishing season), heat would probably really be needed.

I have no idea what it would cost, but would a combo pellet boiler/solar hot water (with water-to-air heat exchange in the furnace plenum) give some shoulder-season heat and DHW?

The basement is damp (open sump, spring uphill - no standing water though) - would that be a huge issue with pellets? I can keep the bags in an air-tight container surely?

Any other ideas?

Here are our usual forms of transport:



And the house partially hidden by the overgrown garden:

You built your own CHP? That is awesome, I should hang out here more often!

Hmmmm 1200W for ignition, how long is that? I was actually thinking of manually feeding the boiler myself. I definitely wouldn't trust a stranger with it! I figure if we rent by the week, I can go in and clean the place and maintain the boiler weekly.

For water, I would hook into my cousin's well probably. You're right though, I should look into how much power it draws. 5kW yikes!

There is a spring behind the house that my other cousin uses for water (gravity fed), but it's poor quality.

I'm sorry I don't have the numbers on power for you - we currently run a 15 kW generator 24/7 for 6 houses ($30000/yr fuel bill!) and electricity is another thing that will have to change. I'm hoping we can get a microhydro system, but the stream is 3km away on Crown land, and it has salmon spawning habitat in part of it. For this house, only used in the summer, I think solar would be ideal if a 'community' solution isn't found.