Perhaps have them float too, so they don't take up valuable land.
Err, isn't that called a block of flats and is well established technology?But carry on having a pop at everything, you'll score a direct hit one day.
Maybe, in the future, new-build houses will have roofs of solar panels, also garage roofs built of solar panels. Also, new-build houses aligned to 'collect' as much solar energy as possible.
In addition, new-builds to have triple-glazing and double insulation in the walls.
That way, the energy is always 'on tap' and as battery technology improves (hopefully) so the solar system is already on hand to take advantage.
Who knows, maybe one day another form of storing electricity will be discovered and we can ditch those bloody awful, expensive, wasteful, short-lived and toxic batteries.
Just a thought.
Although do you really have to go 'off-grid' for the batteries to be useful to the grid as a whole? The main issue with the grid is peak demand periods and not the usual baseline. Although having solar and other generation means with a battery to allow you to go off-grid will obviously reduce the demand the batteries can also be used to smooth demand.
I have solar panels on my roof. So in the summer months could be off-grid for most of the time if I had a battery to store the power I make. In the winter months I could then use the battery to store electricity over night from the grid and then use it during the peak periods in the morning/evening. If I used an existing Economy 7 plan then this would save me money so no need for further incentives. If enough people did this then the peak usage would be significantly reduced so helping the grid to cope with its current infrastructure. I believe some power companies in the US are planning to offer home batteries with a small upfront fee and the £15 per month over 10 years. Since a battery would save most people with solar more than £15 a month I am sure then it becomes an interesting option if it ever got offered over here.