If you're interested in running electric out there - talk with some contractors to see what needs to be done, and what you can do yourselves.
We 'helped' our electrician by digging the trench to his specs, laying all the conduit he provided (hubby knows how) and having it go basically to where he needed it to go. Electrician came in, added two bends (one on each end of the run to tie into panels), hubby helped pull the wire (or was he pushing? Can't recall), electrician did all the connections and tada! We've got power! We significantly lowered the costs by digging our own trench and laying all the conduit out. Can't recall what the inspectors did - I recall we couldn't backfill the trench until after final inspection - that was a pain, as we had toddlers at the time (oh, lookie!, a big hole with something shiny in the bottom!!! Oh, wait, mud!).
From what I recall, there's a 'sub panel' out in the barn. It's got two circuit breakers - one for outlets, one for lights. It attaches in our main panel in the house like your electric stove or electric clothes dryer would connect. So if a circuit gets tripped out there, I have to check the panel out there and the one in the house. Hasn't ever happened. But, I know how.
Hope this helps!
