Alternative Energy Rant

I like to dream about ways to make alternative energy assessable to everyone...
Today I am really focused on the fact that I am tied to a grid that I cannot control and that may be perilously fragile... today is an ice storm day. It is raining pretty hard, the trees have a pretty good coat of ice, which is still building. I occasionally have to focus on being calm because my heart is racing as fast as the rain drops splatter on the roof. The wind is picking up and that means limbs of the large trees in town will be starting to break. The rumble of utility trucks can already be heard, in fact a crew was just down the street removing a branch from a line.
About six years ago there was a significant ice storm here in north eastern Kansas and we lost power for about three days, the ice was beautiful, but it was pretty scary not having traditional utilities. We borrowed a generator, but that was a pretty small band aid.
Here's what I want:
I want the utility company to put PV solar arrays on my house, I will let them do so for free, and they can charge me regular price for the electricity I use and they can keep the rest in their grid. If the companies did this on residential and commercial properties, maybe we could avoid having to build any more coal fired power plants and we would have a more diversified energy production system. I know that this is not a silver bullet, but I want solar and like most people I cannot afford it!
The utilities should be able to realize return on investment sooner than I would, plus if they would offer free solar units to their customers they could start creating the economies of scale necessary to bring down the functional cost of solar power. I get so mad when I hear that solar is not competitive because of transmission costs, if power generation could become diversified to the point of usage we save in many respects.
Next Dream:
I want a hybrid solar-fuel cell powered heating system for my house. I want solar to generate hot water and hydrogen for heat and fuel storage. The traditional HVAC system is very myopic and produces waste on every front. I am not a physicist so I do not know if this is even possible, but I would like to have an integrated power generating and fuel storage system that could also power a vehicle. I really do not want to have a basement full of toxic batteries.
I think the number one obstacle to an energy production paradigm shift is the energy companies wanting to control distribution so they can control prices and profits. If they would focus their businesses on developing new technology and ways to lease/sell the generation equipment, they could get away from power being the commodity.
Wind energy:
The energy companies whine about start up costs and transmission, and there is the NIMBY factor of giant turbines congregated en mass. Here a modest proposal: Put the turbines along our highways!!!!! Instead of trying to hide the turbines on a farm, string them along our current highway system. Wouldn't it be cool to drive down the highway in an electric car, stop at the charging station that gets its energy from the turbines lining the roadway!!!!!
As you drive along a major interstate you will notice that there are already power poles, there would be good accessibility for construction, maintenance and transmission. They could be put up like Christmas lights, plug and play.
The other thing that often accompanies interstates are railroad lines, in most cases the land for the rail lines was given to the rail companies some time ago, this would be an excellent place to put more turbines, also the trains could easily transport the components to assemble the turbines.
I guess all of my dreams follow a singular theme, get over the centralized generation theme that has always been the norm for the generation of power. Integrated generation reduces need for transmission and ultimately creates a more stable and scalable way to incorporate green power.