Well said sbotsford,
Big projects have a huge suck factor, the money sucks from my pocket into another's pocket often without delivering the promised outcome.
Projects like coal, wood gasification, high altitude winds, methanol etc. are to me an absolute NO, NO.
Smart grid fits into this category. As do many other big projects in the works. If private industry wants to invest in these technologies... fine. Not developed with public money. I wonder if people believe in the free market? Want the actual cost to be passed on to the actual consumer, not to everybody.
Solar for my home, a one time fee works for me! No smart grid needed. Batteries are the weak link, don't count on EEStor, they've been jerking the industry around since 2004 without producing anything.
Most energy comes from the sun, why focus on less efficient technologies? Clearly the down side to solar is the storage required.
Long time ago I calculated: putting a 10ft dia wind turbine on each power line pole going to residential homes, the power could be produced without the power plant! Ok, has many problems, wind is not any more reliable than sun at night! Just kidding.
Have fun,
Scott.