Off The Grid?

I have friends in Australia who recently made the investment in wind and solar power, enough that they took their house entirely off the grid. That's right, no bill from Australian Con Ed, or whatever they call it over there. They also collect rainwater that they use on their plants and to wash clothes, so they're really close to being entirely self-sufficient, no reliance on local utilities at all.
   I know what you're thinking, good for them, but how many people have the time, money, or perseverance to see that sort of thing through? Aren't we all still stuck on the grid?
   Not so fast. I've been reading Scientific American, listening to NPR, surfing the web and generally paying attention to things, and I think as a society we're pretty close to a major change in infrastructure.
   Just like the Internet changed content delivery for all media - music especially - there is a coming revolution in the way homes will generate and store power that will have effects far beyond keeping the porch light on. There are now solar generators in development that will electrolyze water, putting they hydrogen produced into fuel cells stored underground. Already there are smaller-sized wind generators that produce more than enough wattage to power a home. Jay Leno has several of these wind generators, as a matter of fact, he uses them to power his gigantic warehouses full of expensive cars, and the excess he feeds back into the grid. One of the richest men on television actually gets a check back from SoCal Edison every month.
   Just like the Internet took content generation out of the hands of a very small number of producers, publishers, and record labels, in the next few years we're going to see immense changes in the way power is generated.
   So what?
   It's a growth industry, for one, so if you're an investor - or job-seeker - that's something to look at. It's also a vast, inevitable unknown. When suburban communities, office buildings, and baseball stadiums regularly generate far more power than they consume, what will happen to the utilities? Will they go out of business? Will they change their business to something else? What are we going to do with all that extra energy?
   Interesting times.