If we used solar panels (In island paradise they added roof patterns that look like solar panels) Could we have at least 3-5 electronic items, or we could have a "Generator" in the basement that powers some things. I'm not sure what could pose as a generator but we could figure it out, also shouldn't we have story progression off as to keep new people from moving in?

Yes, story progression should be off and you should suppress opportunities.

There's going to be a lot of smelly sims in this apocalypse