Solar Set-Ups - Can You Use Them When The Power Goes Out?

We just talked about solar installations with a local company's representative, and it looks like a great deal EXCEPT that the solar can't take over when the power goes out - supposedly because of safety concerns. If a repairman is working on a pole, we were told, a surge could come out of our installation and electrocute him. However, we already have a stand-by generator powered by LP gas which has a transfer switch so that when the power is out and the generator kicks in, it prevents the electricity from that device from entering the system beyond our home. I'm wondering why that can't work with solar energy and whether others have had the same experience with the same limitations.