Most systems that are connected to the grid require it by local code from what I've read. When the city did the inspection on my system after the contractor fin

Most systems that are connected to the grid require it by local code from what I've read. When the city did the inspection on my system after the contractor finished up installation, one of the things they checked is that it was on an approved list of inverters. It's not clear to me that the approved list required that those inverters be internet-connected, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a requirement about "off site upgradeable/diagnosable" and so on. If you're off grid, you can easily get away with not having that sort of thing.