Per your interest in solar - start studying! US Solar Institute in Florida offers training courses, each segment is a week long, hands-on. I met the founder years ago when he had started a training school in Jamaica. There's also the aspect of storage batteries so you can have juice at night. Learn as much as you can so you can maintain and trouble shoot it, as well as verifying any hired work done to it.

Re: Leaving the place empty at times: especially in the early years it would be wise to come-and-go frequently on an irregular schedule. Keep your arrival and departure dates to yourself, then you will observe what happens when you are away. Its better for the house too, you will catch maintenance issues early. Ten acres is a sizeable area to keep track of.