In this year's "energy challenge" as broadcast on PBS, they demonstrated that it's possible to build a house that's got all the modern conveniences and yet operates from self-contained power generation, hence no power plant and distribution system is necessary at all.

What these houses have in addition to photovoltaic energy production and electronic conversion to the conventional DC, is innovative insulation, airflow management, and heating and cooling. Those are the energy sinks, not the fridge or the TV. Because of the relative inefficiency of current battery technology, it's necessary to invest a lot in the most efficient LiIon batteries, which, presently, cost a lot, but which, with appropriate economy of scale, will become much cheaper. That's the key. Sufficient reserve has to be stored for cold, long nights and it has to happen from short, often cloudy days. The guys who made these demonstrations happen have figured it out, though.

The key to being grid-independent, is to have enough reserve that you can last through a cloudy, rainy ten days.

This is not unheard-of in Canada, as, IIRC, one of the teams was from U of Toronto, or Calgary, or someplace north of the border.

I suppose, as one has to replace the batteries from time to time, they present something of a disposal problem, but not on the same order as nuclear waste.

RE