“I found out that it had to be connected to the grid and so would be useless during power outages”
Being connected to the grid should not prevent you from using them during grid power outages.
It would allow you to sell some unused excess power back during daylight hours, which are typically the peak demand hours (people running air conditioners, businesses at work, etc.). The reason regulators want lots of household solar panels connected, is because it reduces the need for some peak generating capacity (and some backup generation in case of outages).
It is a relatively marginal extra cost when getting solar panels installed (which might well be subsidized), and only a marginal benefit to grid capacity/resilience (unless it is done on a very wide scale). I don’t know if it is the most cost effective approach, but those are the arguments for requiring it.
Here it is required they be connected to the grid. If the power goes off everyone’s goes off. Even the peeps with solar panels. Daughter has had them on their last 2 houses.