Yeah I figured the comment about solar credits was too good to be true.
In any case I really should have a battery backup pump. If we lost power while Im at work in a situation like the 2010 rains the basement would flood before I got home. Piecing one together from components with a bigger battery to have the option to run the inverter seems to make sense. Adding the solar panel is more for a fun project than anything else.
On a bang for the buck basis the smart move would probably be to get one of these HF 2 stroke jobs.
I've got a sump pit in my finished basement about 18" from carpeting. After reviewing a LOT of options for my sump, I opted for a commercial battery backup pump....the "Watchdog Special" middle of the road...not their cheapest or their most expensive. Thinking about it for a while, I came up with a lot of scenarios that it covered...when I'm asleep or out of town during that freak thunderstorm, when the (quality) primary pump fails for some reason, when the genny running the primary quits for a couple minutes during a maximum water event, when the genny won't start and can't be revived quickly, etc. The commercial system also has a 'low water' alarm on the battery, which will be a PITA when it goes off, but better than a dead battery. Folks on the internet don't like the batteries Watchdog sells, say they only last a couple years. Whatever, I want the piece of mind and my local hardware store sells them. I sized out the battery to nominally cover the Irene event last year (~6" rain). Etc.
During this event I had my HF genny ready to go, and ran the primary sump off that during the major water. And I still had backup if the genny failed.
My (cheapo) plan for my all-electric, flood-prone house is:
$250 for the backup sump
$100 for the HF genny
$65 for nice steel 5 gal Jerry can, a 1 gallon oil-gas mixing jug, stash of 2-stroke oil, plugs, etc.
$50 for a bunch of indoor extension cords.
$35 Coleman propane camp stove and some 1 lb tanks
existing wood insert.
On day 4 w/o power we still have space heat, a fridge, a dry basement, plenty of CFL light, can cook, and had warm water in the DHW tank.
I am currently considering wiring in a manual transfer switch and getting something like a 2000W inverter generator.....but I'll prob wait a couple months and then decide if I still want. The wife likes her comforts...I may do it for her.