We operate under electrical grids that can be broken down into many points of failure, and when one considers the limited energy resources required to generate the electricity, the grids can be broken down to single points of failure. Homes and businesses are connected via miles and miles of wire and cable, into massive transformers connected into substations of ever greater size and load. It works well, and there is some redundancy there, but as we have seen there is also chance at catastrophic failure. If the supply of oil stops, which it inevitably must at the levels it is being delivered, then all additional fossil fuels such as coal will fail to be delivered also. We have also seen how toxic and dangerous is nuclear power under its current methods. There has yet to be a powerful enough generation of so-called green energy, like wind turbines , and some centralized solar stations operating in some parts of the country.  
 
I feel we need a maximum redundancy electrical grid. This means that every home generates it's own requirement of energy, giving back to the grid any surplus, and taking from the grid any needed extra. Many people are already doing this with their own solar and wind tech (as well as magnet etc.), but most are reluctant to embrace the technology because of the initial costs, complicated installation, a lack of understanding, and they don't want their property cluttered up with bulky objects.  
 
I'd like to see the development of a roofing tile that is a compound of silicon and silver micro-filaments. There should be no need for hard wiring as the tops of the tile would be silicon, and the bottom and overlays would be exposed silver and silicon combination. Essentially, the entire roof would become one giant silicon wafer with the purpose of absorbing solar electricity. The actual current would be delivered via a lay line pattern put down below the tiles, and then channeled into the house and the grid.  
 
I'm not sure the feasibility of this, or even the possibility, but I feel it is one example of creating a hybrid of materials and material uses, essentially hiding the tech within the materials needed for the existing structures. The same applications could be used in building construction, in both roofing, windows and surface construction.  
 
Using this maximum redundancy system of construction, energy becomes nearly free, with the exception of maintaining the grid to keep the redundancy. There is still some centralized generation, but only on a needs basis, which should be a great deal less than it is now.