Hi David, and welcome to forum.
I thought i could post some opinions here too, altought im not running any stationary woodgas (but i have lot of ideas for it, if i find my dream place to live in the future (lots of place for wood handling, no neighbours))
First im with SteveU, i think you could start directly with wood gasification, nothing wrong with charcoal, but start the hard way, and be aware you may have some struggles and fails in the future.
Heres how i would do, probably nothing right, but anyhow: use a sturdy engine, to big for the use, maybe twice as big as your generator needs, inline 4 or 6 cylinder, a push-rod, no interference engine is to prefer. Dimensioning your gasifier smaller than the engines needs, it’s not going to work full power.
Make sure it’s pretty common where you live, maybe get two for spares? Check out head gaskets are available.
Make sure it is easy to run it on liquid fuel, for tests, are the trouble in the gasifier or the engine?
For safety: do you suspect you made some tar?-run it on gasoline 5 mins before shut-down.
You need “emergency” electricity? Run on gasoline a short time, without need to start gasifier.
Starting on woodgas is hard for the beginner, run on gasoline, give it more and more woodgas until it “chokes”, turn down liquid fuel and “wooh-hoo!” it runs on woodgas!
This are stuff very helpful for the “beginner/experimenter”
Build your woodgas system easy to dismantle, i use to weld mine, and in experimenting, all you save by using wood is lost on grinding discs 
I would build it with the opportunity to save all the heat, gas cooling, engine cooling, exhaust heat regeneration, even if it’s not much win, it’s nice to have the opportunity.
Safety: preferable build it under roof, no walls, absolutely not in the same building as living space!
Use some Co detectors, they are cheap.
As Sean points out in another thread, exhausts “robbed” on their heat, will stay closer to the ground, use a high enough “chimney”.
Older engines with atmospheric crankcase ventilation, should have the breather tube connected to the air-intake.
Imagine your generator stops by some reason, a hot gasifier will produce some “after-gassing”, if you walk in that room, to check whats wrong, you may never walk out again…
Better have air openings, don’t trust fan ventilation.
As for the gasifier, you have best luck with proven designs, if you want to implement own ideas/improvents, do it after you have a working system, you’re learned to operate.
A WK gasifier is a good, proven design, but i can’t remember at the moment if there are many stationary operating systems? You need to check with them operators.
The Ben P system is also a good, proven design, mostly designed for stationary use.
Use the feedstock suggested here, as dry as possible. Round cuts flow the best.
Woodchips is terrible, chips tends to flow as a “plug”, a chip fed gasifier probably needs forced feeding, automation, don’t start with chips.
Don’t use pellets or briquettes, it will sooner or later decompose into sawdust.
If you have made electricity out of wood, for, say a year successfully, then start trying all this, don’t rebuild your working gasifier, use it, and build the “new” experimental one beside, this is more fun. And is somewhat addictive, which others will agree with.
Well, i think i’ve forgot most i wanted to say, but heres some ideas (most of this is exactly the opposite of how im doing it, it’s the guarantee i know it works better…)
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